Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 1: Personal Feelings
by Nitebreaker
Summary: The Entity's purpose is finally revealed. What will happen now? Will Omega ever make it back? What about Kitten? Even worse, what about Tara? Will Raven have to reveal certain secrets? What will be the reaction of the others if she does? What of the Hunters, and the Desolate Sector they passed through? The Godwar saga is about to heat up, in more ways than one. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Godwar: Part 2: Battleground, chapter 1: Personal Feelings

_I don't own the Teen Titans_

_As someone once said, "And here we go….."_

The Entity sat, metaphorically speaking, atop the tallest skyscraper of Jump City, seething, seething in a way no mortal could ever really understand. Birds flying along suddenly veered around the invisible spot that was him. A few people on the ground looked up and saw this, but of course without understanding. Must be some sort of electromagnetic interference, some thought.

He'd been a fool.

In truth, he admitted to himself, he'd made a fool of himself. He'd actually deluded himself into thinking that the human/demon hybrid known as _Raven _would _actually_ _understand_ about him, and what he was trying to do. He really should have known better.

No person touched, _infected_, with the concept of _individuality _could ever truly understand the sheer magnificence of Unity. It wasn't really their fault. Humans were accustomed to the condition of predation, of the fear of something catching them and tearing off chunks of their flesh, swallowing them in order to maintain their own individual life functions. That was a hard image to shake, he guessed.

But he'd still allowed himself to hope, hope that she could see beyond that. That had been his biggest mistake.

And all it had taken was a few words from his Enemy, Typhon, pretty much telling her what he himself had _already _told her, that he sought to assimilate everything, make it One with Himself, and she'd turned on him, yelling at him and telling him he was no better than Malchior, who probably would have raped her had he had the chance. He'd certainly emotionally abused her, as it was. To the Entity, there was really no difference.

So. He was no better than a rapist, was he? Terrif. Idly, he wondered, if she had the chance, whether or not she'd go back to Malchior. Sometimes humans, especially abused human females, seemed to do that sort of thing. The image came into his Godmind of Malchior chopped up into tiny bite-sized bits, still alive and screaming in agony. If he'd had a face to smile with, he would have. Now there was a pleasant thought. Maybe later.

He "sat" there, on the tallest peak in the city, boiling with something beyond mortal rage. He couldn't take his anger out on her, of course, because, even in his anger, he cared about her. He cared about them all. It was part of his nature, why he'd started this whole crusade to begin with, so long, long ago. He couldn't deny himself. And it was true, also, that perhaps he, too, had said some things he….regretted. Well. Okay. That was the human condition. Even though the Entity had far outstripped humanity uncountable aeons ago, he was still composed of emotional beings, and so couldn't help but have emotions, himself.

He felt within himself, seeking control and comfort. He couldn't blame Raven for not understanding; her own father had tried to use her as a human portal from his world into hers. Then, Malchior. Face it, the poor girl had really never had anything like a normal, positive relationship. With anybody. That is, until Hank came along. He wondered how that was going.

Well. He'd never know. It was better this way, to be by Himself. He needed no other. He hoped she and Hank would have a good, long-lasting, upbeat relationship, and maybe, in time, she'd come to see that not _all_ others sought only to take from her.

But he was still angry. Fortunately, there _was_ someone he could take it out on.

High overhead, inside the mile-wide crystal sphere that was the _Starheart, _Typhon sensed the powerful magnetic flux that was his Enemy headed his way like a runaway missile, a flux strong enough to warp light around it, like a giant moving lens. "Missy! He is coming! Get within me, _now!_" And, in a practiced move, Missy merged her energy waveform with his, matching his frequency and modulation perfectly. His/her power sang within her, as if a droplet of water had suddenly become one with a tidal wave. She felt like there was nothing she couldn't do. _Do not get overconfident; he is here._

The Entity hit them with the force of a hundred thousand hydrogen bombs.

On board the Watchtower, lights flicked out as the fantastic magnetic surge hit them. Emergency lights came on, ghostly red in the darkness. "What's going on?" demanded J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.

"Don't know, sir," shouted the tech on duty, above the din. Everyone was holding on to whatever they could, as the Watchtower shuddered violently underneath the assault. Somewhere behind them, an ascending whine announced an overloading circuit; smoke curled from more than one panel. "Some kinda super powerful EMP; never saw anything like it. It ripped through our defenses like they weren't even there. Hardened circuits or no, we're on backup now." He flipped a few more switches. "Nothing. Except for emergency, we're dead in the water."

Another wave of magnetism broiled out towards the Earth as the two elemental forces collided.

Typhon/Missy fought back. He/they _had_ to win. If they did not, the Enemy would absorb all life, indeed, all of everything, into himself, eliminating all freedom. It was true that man's ways were not God's ways, but that was the way it was supposed to be. Humans were supposed to find their own way, to choose for themselves, to make mistakes and to learn from them. That was what it meant to be free. Only in that way could they ever come to know the splendor of the Truth for themselves.

The Entity counterattacked. He _had _to prevail. If he did not, chaos would rule the Earth, with every man's hand against every other man's, and love would be reduced to mere sex, a commodity to be bartered and traded. So for Love's sake, he _had_ to be victorious. Failure was just not an option.

And within him…..

_Within the Entity, he who had been Kalibak roared and surged forward. Kalibak had suffered much in his life. He'd been abused, tormented, and, worst of all, continuously rejected by his father, whom he'd loved, in his own way. But within the Entity, there was comfort, acceptance, and, perhaps most important of all, something he'd never truly believed possible: _innocence_. He'd fight to preserve that. If necessary, he'd die to preserve that._

_Some things are worth dying for._

_Within the Entity, he who had been Officer Ron Davis drew his weapon. Nothing was hidden from him, and he was not deceived. He knew he was no longer a physical being such as he had been, no longer an individual, but a part of a much greater whole. But some images, some useful images, remained. He pictured in his mind a Glock Model 20, in 10mm, loaded with fifteen + one rounds of hollowpoint, Hydra-Shok high-velocity ammunition. The enemy had identified himself, and been given the chance to peaceably withdraw. He had not done so. Now it was time to serve and protect. He moved forward to attack._

_Within the Entity, on what may as well have been a vast plain, he who had been Steppenwulf of Apokolips stood at the head of an army such as he would never even have believed possible, even as leader of Apokolips' forces. He drew his sword, silently pledging his undying allegiance to a Master who'd earned it by way of right rather than might. He raised his sword high in salute to a valiant but misguided foe. _Forward_._

_And with a roar to match that of an exploding star, the legions behind him charged as one. _In the Name of Love.

The battle for Forever had begun.

_To be continued…._


	2. Chapter 2: Collateral Damage

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 2: Collateral Damage

The two beings rolled about in the upper atmosphere, yin and yang, eternal opposites, forever irreconcilable. All across the Earth, lights flickered as power systems strained under the colossal overload.

Typhon struggled with his foe. The Adversary was _strong,_ stronger than he'd ever been, and there seemed to be a strangely _personal_ element to his attack. But Typhon had no time to ponder on that; he had his metaphorical hands full with the Entity as it was. The Entity was powerful, almost _too_ powerful, and this wasn't even all of him.

The very Earth shook as the nickel-iron core vibrated like a gong. All over the world, and even far beyond, Sensitives groaned, fell to their knees, putting their hands over their ears as if to block out some unholy sound.

Raven awoke to a stygian blackness. Her head, indeed, her whole body, throbbed, like she'd undergone a beating. "What….where am….Orb? Am I in you?"

**_{{Yes, friend Raven.}}_**

"Orb? Is….are you..under stress?" She really didn't know how to express her concern; she'd never heard this particular intonation or inflection or whatever one wished to call it come from the seemingly eternal Orb.

**_{{Yes, Raven. I am under extreme stress.}}_**

"From what? And, and why am I-*" But even as she asked the question, she remembered: being in her room, trying to read, then something sledgehammered into her consciousness, eliminating all but pain. Then, nothing.

And she knew the Orb did not casually envelop people unless their lives were in danger. So hers must have been. Now that she was becoming more aware, she sensed microfine cilia from the Orb attached to her, millions of tiny "fingers" slipping painlessly through and past the cells of her skin, probing, sensing, healing. "Orb? What's going on?"

**_{{The twain have met. They are fighting above your atmosphere. Much destruction is resulting. We, you and I, are sensitive to such emanations. I….am having difficulty…shielding us from them.}}_**

"Can you…do anything?"

**_{{No. I have not the power.}}_**

She sighed. Perhaps it was time, time to tell someone about….things. She hoped the Orb would understand, as she just didn't need any more emotional distress today: the Entity's seeming rejection of her earlier had actually _hurt_. "Orb…there's some things I need to tell you." And she opened up her mind to the alien entity around her, let it see everything that had happened to her in the recent past.

She couldn't tell for certain, but it almost seemed like the Orb was…shocked, somehow. "Orb? I haven't offended you, have I?"

Pause. Then, **{{_I…do not suppose so….though I am not certain what you mean by 'offended.' I suppose….I suppose I am having to adjust to….some things.}}_**

"Orb, I'm sorry not to have confided in you first. I know now I should have. I made a mistake, thinking I could handle it all on my own. Some things, I guess I may have to, but this…."

**_{{You do not have to apologize, Raven. You were under considerable emotional strain, and I suppose when one is under such strain, one's actions may not be what they would normally be. And I certainly can't fault you for acting from….lack of knowledge….}}_**

She smiled, there within the Orb's blackness. Sometimes the Orb went to such lengths to avoid accidently insulting someone. It was actually rather sweet. "It's okay to say the word, 'ignorance,' Orb. I acted out of ignorance….and perhaps lack of faith in my friends."

**_{{Well, ignorance, then. I, too, acted from ignorance once. But my action was what you call a 'doozy'.}}_** Raven remembered that the Orb had once, in simple ignorance, killed an entire world, not realizing that the mortal beings on it could actually _die_, and be no more. The Orb hadn't really understood about death, at least, not until then. It had been a harsh education. "Well, perhaps some things….don't need to be broadcast, Orb. I suppose we can truthfully say we all have our secrets."

**_{{Indeed. Your secret is safe with me. As are you.}}_** With that, she lost consciousness.

…..

Above, Typhon and the Entity continued their struggle. So intent were they upon each other, that they allowed gravity to pull them down to the surface of the very planet in contention.

Over and over they rolled, a massive bundle of invisible-to-human-eyes energies, each struggling to find the other's weakness. An entire mountain dissolved, collapsing into dust, as the two unseen entities rolled over it. Later, human scientists would note the high mutation rate amongst the plants and animals of that region, and talk about a depleting ozone layer and cosmic radiation. They couldn't be more wrong.

One thousand miles below the Earth's surface, the Fallen One felt the reverberations from the psychic blows being exchanged. He could, to a degree, shield himself from the onslaught, but he pitied the humans above who could not.

Something had to happen. If these two were allowed to continue, they could easily wipe out all life on Earth. He had to do something.

All over the Earth, the magnetic shockwaves pounded everything not nailed flat. Satellites all across the global sky shook; many destabilized in their orbits and started down. For most, it wasn't a big concern; they were small enough to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the Justice League's Watchtower didn't fall into that category. The magnetic waves pulled at it, shaking it back and forth like a dog with a toy. "Sir!" The on-duty tech turned to J'onn J'onnz, "Something's pulling us out of orbit!"

"I see that, captain." He closed his eyes, focusing on his inward senses. The Watchtower's communications relays were of course off-line, but some things were best done the old-fashioned way. _Superman! Captain Marvel! Green Lantern! You are needed!_ Even with all his power, he could barely get through; something was interfering with his telepathy. Whatever was going on was more than a mere physical struggle.

"_*static* on our way, J'o*static*."_ He hoped they'd be enough to right the Watchtower.

On Earth: Jump City. All power was out, lightning flashes from the storms overhead were strobing across the city, and there were seismic shockwaves reverberating throughout the entire tectonic plate. Robin had put Terra on shockwave patrol; with her powers, he hoped she could sense and at least dampen the worst of the shocks. That was proving to be easier said than done; she was having a hard time controlling the rebellious Earth. Raven, he knew, had collapsed when the chaos started; he didn't know why, but could guess.

Cyborg and Angelique were detailed to evacuate people from damaged and sometimes burning buildings, with Angelique morphing herself into a slide, letting people slide from the upper stories down her to safety. Starfire , Haywire, and Beast Boy handled the rest, with Robin working crowd control. "Okay, people, move it, come along now, keep going…." He had to work to keep them from stampeding over their fellows. _Sure could use Raven and Kitten right now. Now that I think about it….{{Orb, you there?}}_

_**{{Yes, Robin. I am here.}}**_

_{{Think you could lend a hand?}}_

**_{{A hand?_}}**

_{{Figure of speech. Means we could use your help.}}_

_**{{I will send a part of me to your assistance. A certain amount of my Self must remain here, to contain Omega's body. And Raven has been injured; I am protecting her.}}**_

_{{Any idea what's going on here?}}_

_**{{A clash of two extremely powerful beings. But I suppose you knew that.}}**_

_{{Well, yes. Can you do anything?}}_

_**{{No. I lack the power.}}**_

"_Mr. Robin?"_ Angelique's voice came over his communicator, sounding in his ear module. She could communicate with him even while rescuing the frightened civilians. _"Father Alpha says they're going to do something."_

"Like what?" Then, to the people around him, "Keep moving, keep moving, sir, ma'am, just remain calm, everyone." Robin could multitask with the best of them.

"_A shield over the city and the region around it. But he doesn't know if it'll protect from the earthquake waves, though…it'll haveta be sorta localized."_

"Good deal." The surf was up and choppy, and there had been reports of _tsunamis_ possibly on the way. "Tell him we all appreciate it very much."

Suddenly, the thunderclouds overhead seemed to warp slightly as, with a low electronic hum, the Thinker's shield sprang into existence. Even while battling the crowds, Robin noted the slight difference in the way the sky looked, now, like being under an enormous transparent dome, and breathed a sigh of relief; Thinker—Kindred—force fields were probably light-years ahead of anything humans were familiar with.

And not a second too soon. Starfire, in the act of carrying three terrified people to safety, was the first to notice the sea pulling back, back, ever back, as an enormous wave built up far out to sea. The _tsunami_ hit with a roar of primal power, hammering at the invisible barrier around the city and neighboring environs. But the shield held, glowing slightly in the gathering dusk.

Again and again the angry sea dashed itself against the Thinker's technological magic. That technology ultimately won. Finally, the onslaught subsided, with higher-than-normal waves lapping at the battered shoreline, almost grudgingly, Robin thought, as though the sea were a live thing that resented being deprived of its prey.

High overhead, Superman, Captain Marvel, and Green Lantern were desperately trying to right the falling Watchtower. Both Superman and Captain Marvel had the necessary strength to move the tower, but if they applied that strength to any one spot, it'd simply give way, producing holes in the bulkhead. So Green Lantern had to carefully wrap the Watchtower in a field of shaped solid energy from his ring, and have them push on _that._ Even then, it wasn't easy. The Watchtower had been assembled in orbit; it wasn't really made to be moved. It creaked and groaned under the stress…

Meanwhile, Typhon and the Entity continued their battle. Over and over they rolled, neither one giving so much as a centimeter. In their battle, they carved a great gouge out of the Mojave desert, a titan furrow extending miles in a perfectly straight line.

{{_**Yield.**_}}

{{_**Never.**_}}

{{_**You have no place here. Go from this world.**_}}

{{_**Do you really think I'm going to just pack up and leave just because you ask me so nicely?**_}}

Pause. {{_**Not really, but I had hoped.**_}}

{{_**I had hope once, too. It's nothing but trouble.**_}}

{{_**Mister Typhon? Mister Whoever you are? Will you please stop this?**_}}

{{_**Who….?**_}}

{{_**Missy, get back inside me! It's dangerous out here!**_}}

{{_**No, please, listen to me, you two. You both talk like you want to save the world, but if you keep this up, there won't be any world left to save! Don't you see?**_}}

The two warring beings broke apart momentarily. {{_**Typhon, I can't believe you'd deliberately endanger this child by bringing her into a combat situation.**_}}

{{_**I'm not a child!**_}}

{{_**My apologies. Typhon, I can't believe you'd deliberately endanger this being of a vast age by bringing her into a combat situation.**_}}

{{_**It was the safest place for her when you attacked.**_}}

The Entity pondered. So. In a sense, Typhon had a hostage, whether he'd intended it that way or not. Any real damage done to him, here, would probably be fatal for the girl. That was unacceptable. {{_**Very well. But this isn't over.**_}}

{{_**Indeed it is not. You yet remain here.**_}}

{{_**And remain I shall.**_}} And with that, the Entity broke away, speeding over the curvature of the Earth, heading for the eastern hemisphere.

Typhon/Missy went back to the _Starheart_. It had taken enormous damage. The only thing that had kept it from shattering completely under the Entity's initial attack was that Typhon was consciously holding it together, holding every molecule in place by sheer force of will. He sighed when he saw the damage. This…would take some time to repair.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3: Voices in the Night

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 3: Voices in the Night

Ahmed had never believed it possible to be so thirsty.

He had been without water now for two sun rises. Once again, he cursed his luck: if only he'd thought to check the container for pinhole leaks _before_ he'd set out across the Kalahari, across this curiously blasted area devoid of life. Well, there was no help for it now. He was, by his reckoning, fully halfway across, traveling at night to keep out of the broiling, sweat-producing heat of the sun. He knew there was no water behind him. There might be some before him, on his way, but, frankly, he doubted it. And, even if there was, he doubted he had the strength left in him to reach it.

He was as good as dead, and he knew it. He just had to suffer a while longer before the inevitable.

And suddenly, he ran into something.

He couldn't _see_ anything, couldn't smell, touch or taste it, and his sense of hearing told him nothing, but he nonetheless _knew_ there was something here. The closest analogy he could think of was, once, back in his native Saudi Arabia, he'd wandered too close to some high-tension power lines, and felt, rather than heard, a kind of singing tension in the air. This was a thousand times more, but _different_ somehow. Although he could never say just _how_ he knew, he _knew_, on a level below conscious thought, that this was a living being.

He backed up, an atavistic fear momentarily overcoming his terrible thirst. He scrambled back, his mind recalling stories of desert-dwelling demons, _djinni_, those beings made from fire even as man was made from dust, who waylaid unwary travelers. The Prophet had said they had no power over believers, but he didn't know if the _djinn_ knew that or not. He tried to pray.

And, all of a sudden, it was as if an enormous invisible eyeball had swiveled around to _look_ at him, and he knew the thing was _aware _of him. He was the focus of its attention. Rational thought fled, and he found himself gibbering pleas for mercy.

_You need not be afraid of me._ The voice-that-was-not-a-voice echoed in his mind, seemingly composed of many voices, combined together like the strands of a rope. _I will not harm you._

"Who—who are you?"

_That is unimportant. I sense your need. Here. Take this._ And Ahmed's eyes grew big as saucers as he saw containers materialize from thin air, filled with that most precious of substances, _actual water._ He didn't have the words to understand such concepts as _transmutation of matter,_ or _matter-energy conversion,_ so he called it what, to him, it was: a _miracle._

Greedily, he grabbed the first container, guzzling it down. It was just the right temperature, cool but not cold, and it felt better than anything he'd ever felt, on the back of his throat. "Th-thank you…"

_You are quite welcome. This should see you across the desert to your destination. Now. I must return to my deliberations. Go in peace._ And he sensed the consciousness, the full focus of the Entity turning away from him.

Ahmed returned to his people, across the sands of the Kalahari. He told them of his encounter with the Unexplainable. And for those who believed (which, admittedly, were few), the nighttime was never quite so dark and scary as it had been, thereafter.

No one doubted that there were evil, unnatural things in the darkness, things that preyed on people. But not all things that dwelt in the darkness were evil.

…..

Titans Tower: Robin had called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. "Okay, people, what've we got? And, anybody got a progress report on Raven? This seems more her sort of thing than anyone else's."

"I'm here, Robin," The sorceress said, just then coming in the door. She seemed unsteady on her feet, and Hank moved to help her. "I'm fine, Hank, and thanks. That….caught me off-guard. Threw me for a loop, as the saying goes. Maybe several loops." She took her accustomed seat at the table.

"How are you feeling?"

"Let's just say I now know how a scrambled egg feels." She rubbed her face with both hands. "What's been going on?" This last more as way of delaying the inevitable than for real information.

"A series of magnetic shockwaves hit just about everything we know, and probably far beyond. The Orb says it's the clash of two extremely powerful beings, one, we presume, to be this Typhon character. The other is unknown.

"The Kindred helped." He leaned back, crossed his arms, and sighed. "If it wasn't for their force-field, Jump City would now be Underwater City. We had a series of _tsunamis_ hit, and I think Terra's still recovering from the effort of shielding us from the seismic waves. Isn't that right, Gar?" Beast Boy nodded, his attention not wavering from his fiancé, who was holding a bag of ice to her head, an expression of pain on her thin, pretty face. "The destruction….could've been a whole lot worse." He paused and rubbed his eyes. Then he asked her the one question she'd been dreading. "You have anything to add to that?"

There was no help for it now. She'd have to phrase it properly, of course; nobody was requiring her to tell _everything_. Yet. A sigh. "Something-*" And, before she could say another word, the light in the room lessened, slightly.

It was a most peculiar effect. The overhead lights didn't dim, nor was there any particular observable reason for the darkness that seemed to gather in the room, that is, aside from the figure that materialized at the far end of the table.

In appearance he was a tall man, nearly seven feet in height, wearing a dark cloak and raiment. But one look at his face let them know they were not dealing with a man, or even anything remotely normal, by their standards.

Trigon had exuded an air of primordial strength, a sense of overpowering might coupled with an aura of ageless antiquity that all who looked upon him couldn't help but find intimidating. They had nonetheless fought him, with Raven's power, not to mention the memory of her sacrifice, but it had been like children fighting an adult.

This being also radiated that same sense, but somehow different. They knew they were facing a supernatural being of a high order, one totally apart from nature, that had been ancient when life first formed upon the planet. Indeed, for this being, the terms, "old" and "young" simply didn't apply.

The Fallen One gazed with his red, dying-ember eyes upon the assembled heroes. "You would be the ones known as the Teen Titans. I bring such greetings as I can in this time of tribulation."

Robin recovered first. He noticed Raven, out of the corner of his eye, staring, wide-eyed and pale, at the being. "Yes, we are. Are you, by any chance, one of the beings responsible in part for our recent troubles?"

"No. That was the work of beings far greater than I." His gaze turned to Raven. "But I am aware of your troubles, as you call them. I come with something that may be of assistance to you." From beneath the folds of his cloak, he produced a book.

Like the being himself, the book emanated an aura of fantastic age. It was a huge, two inch thick volume, bound between what appeared to be wooden covers, fastened with clasps of some shiny metal. The ends of the pages, what they could see of them, were yellowed, and didn't look like paper. It was not dusty, but somehow, it gave the impression it should be. He proffered the book to Raven. "Here. This is the book known to you and yours as the Codex Aleph, the book of First Magic. It has been in my keeping for the last eighty-five thousand of your years."

Raven didn't move to take the book. "The-the Codex Aleph? That, that's it? The real, original book?"

"Yes. You know of the book?"

"Only what I've read." She seemed hesitant to take it. "Are the legends true?"

The Fallen One hesitated. "I cannot say if they are all true. The magic described herein can only be properly utilized by a human of supernatural heritage. Such individuals are understandably quite rare. But it may well be your only hope for survival. That is why I am violating my oath of aeons and offering it to you."

"Raven?" Robin's gaze shifted from the being, the book, back to Raven. "What is this, this book? And who is this?"

"I'm….not sure who he is, but I've heard of this book. It—it's more than just a book. It's…in a way, it's power itself."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "What did you mean by these legends?"

Raven said nothing, but walked over, as though in a daze, and took the book from the Fallen One's hands. The others looked on with concern. Normally, Raven was the most self-possessed of them all; right now, she just wasn't acting at all like herself at all. There was a strange quality to her movements, as though she were moving in a dream. "I…will see to it." She seemed fascinated by the book, not even looking at the being who'd handed it to her.

"Then I have done all that I can do." He paused, and Robin could've sworn he saw an uneasy expression come over his face. "May it be well with you." And, with that, he was gone, just like he'd come. The light in the room returned to normal.

….

Afterwards: Raven sat, alone, in her room, hugging herself, looking at the book on her desk. She'd left the meeting immediately after receiving it, heedless of Robin's—or the others'—questions. They couldn't know what she'd heard about the book, and she really didn't know how to tell them.

The book of First Magic, as it was called, the Codex Aleph, was more than just a book. Like others of its kind, it contained knowledge, knowledge often referred to as _forbidden_ because it was dangerous. Not just that the spells contained within were powerful and could easily be misused; many ancient tomes contained powerful spells. No, the spells contained in the Codex Aleph…were said to bestow almost godlike power upon their user.

But that power didn't come without a price. Using that kind of power also changed the person who used them, usually not for the better.

So what she was being offered was not just simple power. It was power virtually without limits. And the only cost was….who she now was. It was not a question of her giving up her life in the usual sense, of dying in battle. Rather, it was a question of very possibly becoming a monster, and having to live that way….forever.

Raven wasn't too thrilled with being herself as it was. She'd always felt "creepy," as she'd once told Beast Boy. But she could easily imagine being far, far worse. In fact, that very thing was the stuff of her nightmares.

But now…..

Now her world, and her friends, were being menaced by forces beyond anyone's imagination. It would take power beyond anyone's imagination to put a stop to it, to save her world and her friends. She had that power right there in front of her.

But afterwards….would they still be her friends? Who would she be? _What_ would she be? She might be something….they wouldn't want or accept as a friend. She could easily end up being worse than her father. Far worse.

For about the thirty-first time, she got up and approached the book. It lay there, on her desk, seemingly innocuous, but, to her senses, there was an aura about it, like smoke. Something dark.

She remembered Malchior and his teachings. He'd taught her dark magic, only she hadn't realized it at the time. Dark magic tends to feed upon itself, almost with a mind of its own, not wanting to "turn off," at the command of the user. Once one started down that path, there could easily be no turning back.

The book lay there. All she had to do to accept its awesome power was open it, and start reading. She could get the power to save her world. She might end up a monster, friendless, alone in the world, but at least the world—and her former friends-would still be there, would still be alive.

To hate her.

She almost touched the book. Once again, she pulled back, hugging her arms to herself. "No, I mustn't. I mustn't, I mustn't…." She repeated this over and over, but she felt her resolve weakening.

She was being selfish, she told herself. The book offered power. She needed power. Did she really want to just sit by while her entire world suffered? What kind of hero was she, anyway? Heroes were supposed to make sacrifices; here was hers.

What if she rejected the book, refused its offer of limitless might, only to watch her friends die? It would be too late then. Dimly, it came to her that even that thought was selfish: she was wanting to keep her friends _as_ her friends, even if it meant their deaths. How could she even contemplate that? What sort of friend was she, to even think that?

Again she approached the book. She was the only one, besides the Fallen One who'd given it to her, who could actually touch it; to anyone else, it would be as if it were surrounded by a force-field of some sort: they'd be unable to touch or open it. She guessed that insured it wouldn't be used except by the right person.

The right person. Her. She reached out for the book….

"Rae?" Garfield appeared at her side. Somehow, he'd slipped in. How? She guessed it didn't matter; she had other things on her mind right then. "Rae?" He put his hand on her shoulder, gently turning her around. "Raven? Can you hear me?"

"Y-yes, Garfield. I hear you." Did she?

"Come over here." And he led her back over to the couch. Somewhere on edge of her perception, she wondered again how he'd gotten in. She was sure she'd locked her door…. "You left the meeting kinda suddenly."

"Uhm. Yeah, I guess I did." How _had_ he gotten in?

"Rae?" He snapped his fingers near her head. "Rae? You with me, here?"

She jolted out of her almost somnolent state. "Yes, Gar, I'm with you."

"You're acting kinda strange. Here. I know just the thing." And he got up and began to prepare tea. "Some herbal tea will help." Soon he had her sipping on a piping hot cup of her favorite blend. The sharp, hot tang felt good on the back of her throat. Raven had never had to have her tonsils taken out; idly she wondered if she'd even _have_ tonsils by this time next year. "Now. Tell me about this book."

"It—it's more than just a book. It's almost like a talisman. Just having it, possessing it, can do things." She rallied herself. The hot tea did seem to clear her head a little. "First Magic, as it's called, is something handed down from before the time of Mu and Lemuria. Long before. It deals with the primal forces of creation itself. It's said there's no real upper limit to what it can do. But, but…."

"It changes you as you use it," he finished for her.

She struggled to think straight. Something seemed to be pulling at her mind. "Well, yes. But there's nothing that says it can't change one for the better. And we all change. Don't we?" She looked at him, desperation evident in her voice and eyes. He was looking at her with infinite love. Would he still look that way at her even six months from now?

Or would the look in his eyes say _monster_?

Would he even _have_ eyes by then?

She'd called the Entity a monster. What would she be, what would she become, if she opened this book?

Was this….was this how the Entity had begun, itself?

She drained her cup, tossing the rest of her tea back against her throat. "Well, I, I guess I'd best get to work…." Looking down at the empty cup.

"In a minute. You're tired. You just got out of the Orb. You took a psychic beating when those two were going at it out there. Here. Lean back a little." And he drew her back onto the couch, onto his shoulder.

It was comforting, there in his embrace. And it might be the last gesture of friendship she'd ever know. She leaned back against him, got comfortable, closed her eyes, and sighed. She _was_ tired, and still a bit sore. Maybe…maybe things could wait just a little while….

After a minute or so, she fell asleep.

He watched her for a few minutes. If he'd gauged her fatigue level accurately, she'd be out like a light for at least an hour. Plenty of time.

He carefully got up, and, gently picking her up, placed her on her bed. She snored softly, relaxing a little, shifting, putting her arm under her pillow, and smiling. He studied her for a few moments. Raven asleep was a beautiful sight, to him. Right now, she had no worries, no cares, no problems. He wished he could arrange that for her in her waking life, but, of course, he couldn't. He could only do the best he could.

He straightened up and turned towards the door. "All clear, Angelique."

Angelique came in, warily looking around. "You sure it's alright, Mr. Garfield?"

"It's alright. I'm sure." He looked at the sleeping sorceress. "She may be mad when she wakes up, but she'll be mad at _me_, not you. I'll handle it. So don't worry about it. You have the box?"

Angelique nodded, producing a flat wooden box. Although neither of them could actually _touch_ the book, Beast Boy, in gorilla form, _could_ tilt the entire desk, sliding the book off into the box Angelique was holding. She left, heading out the door. He watched her go; as planned, she'd take the book, still in the box, back to the Kindred's hive and place the entire box in a time-stasis field. Stasis fields being a product of science rather than magic, the book's influence—for good or for ill-would be contained. And be beyond Raven's reach.

He turned back to Raven's sleeping form, taking her free hand in his. "I'm sorry, Rae. I'm sure you'll be angry with me for this. And I guess I did take matters into my own hands, and maybe it's selfish of me, but, goddammit, if this is it, if we are all gonna die, if the world's gonna come to an end, then we're all going together, as the family we are. If that's selfish, then so be it." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, right above the jewel on her upper _chakra_ point. "I won't have my sister turning into some kind of monster. If that's what it costs to save the world, then the cost is just too damn high."

Raven shifted in her sleep, still smiling, and hugged her pillow to her. _"Garfield."_ He started; was she waking up?

But no, she slept on, still hugging her pillow to herself. Why would she say his name in her sleep?

Well, it really didn't matter. He pulled the sheets up over her, and stole quietly out, already trying to prepare what he'd say when she woke up.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4: Shadow

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 4: Shadow

The Hunter fleet emerged from warp space just beyond the orbit of Pluto. Talks to God was already in the act of flicking on his communicator, to signal Garfield, when the sensors detected the first of the massive shockwaves emanating from Earth. He hurried up to the bridge; normally, he didn't go there unless Seer of the Way had cleared it, but even in his cabin, on just his personal terminal, he could tell it was unbelievably bad. Was this perhaps something to do with the total lack of life in the desolate sector they'd just come from? "Seer? What is happening?" The shields were up, the fleet as protected as they could be from the expanding waves. Even so, the great ships shuddered, slightly, even at this distance from their source, their shields flaring as they countered the destructive energies.

"Some sort of extremely powerful electromagnetic waves, emanating from _Urth_. Or, to be more accurate, from a point just outside its atmosphere. We're having a hard time punching through it with the sensors; can't really tell anything about what's going on on the planet itself. Farseer's already given me permission to move closer, see if we can determine anything from a closer perspective." The captain of the _Deson_ was seated in his tactical command post, a nest of cushions located in the exact center of the main bridge, his viewscreens and controls alive all around him, the bridge crew arrayed at their stations. He flicked a claw at Talks' communicator. "Not much point in you trying your communicator just yet. We couldn't hear a cometstrike through that."

Talks to God chewed on a claw, nervously. _Please,_ he prayed, _let Garfield and his be safe. Let us be in time._

…..

From his retreat in the Kalahari, the Entity sensed the Fallen One, and his giving the Codex Aleph to Raven. In truth, he'd never heard of the Codex Aleph, but what he was now learning, from means completely unfamiliar to mortals, and many immortals, wasn't particularly good. It was supposed to be some sort of dark magical book promising great power, but at great cost. And _Raven_ had it? _His_ Raven?

Oh, no. This just wouldn't do at all. What could she be thinking, anyway? He'd have to contact her and tell her, well, okay, _ask her nicely_ to leave that dangerous stuff alone. He'd handle Typhon, and then she'd see. Things would be so much better then, and clearer, with all the pressure off, and nobody causing any trouble.

Oh, right: he and Raven weren't speaking right now. Hm. A complication. But then he brightened: Typhon had access to the same sources of information that he did, or at least many of them. No doubt he'd be aware of Raven's possession of the dangerous tome, and take steps to remove it from the world of mortals. He was sure Typhon had his agents, agents more than capable of arranging the theft of the book. So really, he need do nothing. Still….

_Just_ to be on the safe side, he left the Kalahari and drifted over to California. He could keep an eye, as the humans put it, on things from here. And, yes, now that he thought about it….hadn't he heard about some Osiran warriors adrift on Jupiter? From what he gathered, they weren't even full-fledged _people_, as Omega had been. They were pretty much empty shells waiting for direction. He could certainly provide that. No point in letting them just go to waste…..he sent a portion of his multiform consciousness outwards, towards Jupiter…..

….

The repairs to the _Starheart _were complete. It hadn't taken as long as Typhon had thought it would, but the damage had been extensive, nonetheless. Now. Time to review recent information. How had the Adversary gotten so strong?

What's this? Tome of First Magic? He'd heard of this book, and knew the harm it could cause, even in well-meaning hands. And this mortal sorceress had it?

A quick study of Raven, both physical, historical, and psychological. Oh, no. No, no. There really couldn't be a worse choice for that kind of power. Daughter of a demon lord? Someone who already had issues, to begin with? He'd have to take steps. But what?

Humans were notoriously stubborn when it came to these matters. He didn't see this _Raven_ as just giving up the book just because he told her it was dangerous, and that she should. No, she'd probably already concluded that she needed this wholly unnecessary power in order to save her world, and nobody and nothing could dissuade her from that. And trying to take the book from her by force could easily get messy. No doubt some unforeseen destruction would probably result. Typhon had no doubts that much devastation _would_ result from his continued conflict with the Entity, but he had no desire to cause more than was absolutely necessary.

Regretfully, only one sure solution came to mind: the book was only dangerous in Raven's hands. So the solution was brutally simple: _kill Raven._

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5: The Killing Ground

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 5: the Killing Ground

Raven had never been so angry in all her life. Well, okay, she had been. With the Entity, earlier.

She'd awakened just a few minutes ago, neatly tucked in her bed, tea pot and cups washed and put away, and the book gone. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened. The _nerve_ of him!

Didn't he realize there was no other way? Or was it just he didn't trust her with that kind of power? The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She tried to calm down, but, just like before, it wasn't working.

And just how in the nine circles of dam_nation_ had he gotten into her room, anyway? The colossal _gall!_ Of the, the, boy, man, whatever he was. The _arrogance!_

She plopped herself down, crosslegged, breathing raggedly, on her bed, and tried to meditate. She just couldn't seem to achieve that enhanced state, however. Maybe everything that had happened to her, both here lately, and in that other world, had permanently impaired her ability to do so. The thought frightened her a little. Meditation was the way she controlled her powers, after all. If she couldn't meditate….

The energy form that was Typhon slipped soundlessly through the air towards Titans' Tower. He'd determined this to be the location of the sorceress. Perhaps he could make this quick and relatively painless.

He'd tried to find Missy earlier, but she seemed to've disappeared. He didn't know where she could've gone, but perhaps it was for the better. She was, after all, an innocent in all this; there were some things she just didn't need to be involved in. Hopefully, he could get this unpleasantness over with before she got back from wherever it was she'd gone. Maybe then he could explain it to her in some tactful way.

The Entity hovered, stealthily, over northern California. He didn't want Typhon to sense him, know that he was there. They'd come into conflict later, but for now, in a strange sense, they had a mutual purpose: the removal of the book. Once Typhon had succeeded in stealing—well, _securing_—the dangerous tome, matters could resume as before, when the time was right. Things were going well on Jupiter; the nearly-mindless warriors had eagerly accepted him as their new Lord, and were even now being integrated into his Whole. They'd be a good addition.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of all this, Raven paced back and forth in her room. Meditation had completely failed; she was reduced to muttering a few choice four-letter words under her breath. They didn't help either.

Her doorbell rang. Of course! It _just had_ to be him! In all his arrogance! Well, she certainly knew what she was going to say. He had completely disrespected her, disregarded her feelings, her choices, her _intellect,_ entirely, possibly doomed the entire world, and she was really going to let him have it. She practically yanked open the sliding door. "Do you have ANY IDEA what you've DONE?!"

It wasn't Garfield. Instead, it was a little girl, a skinny little thing, a little taller than Angelique, with straggly brown hair, wearing a plain brown dress and hoodie. A little girl she'd never seen before. The child backed up, a bit fearfully, at Raven's outburst. "Uhm, uhm, are-are you Miss Raven?"

Raven was taken aback. "Who-?"

"I'm Missy. Miss Raven, you've got to get out of here! He's coming for you!" The girl tugged on the edge of Raven's cloak. "You have to hurry!"

"Who's coming for me? What are you talking about?"

"Mister Typhon! He's coming for you!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He—he wants to _kill _ you!"

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6: A Secret Revealed

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 6: A Secret Revealed

High over Northern California, the Entity watched as Typhon moved towards Titans' Tower. Soon, the book would no longer be a concern, and things could get back to business as usual. Raven would no longer be tempted to utilize dangerous powers, she'd be safe…..

Wait. Typhon was coming in a little too fast, with too much energy. That much energy….

Oh, _hell_, no.

…

"I don't understand. You say Typhon wants to kill me? Me, personally? Why?" Raven was trying to understand, through the diminishing haze of the rage she was feeling.

"Something about some kinda book you've got." Missy looked away from Raven, a faraway look coming over her frightened features. "It's too late," she whispered, "He's here." And suddenly, she grabbed Raven around the waist, like a human life preserver…..

…..and something happened. Something _changed,_ something _shifted,_ in a way Raven couldn't comprehend. Everything went dark.

She couldn't sense anything, not like she normally did. Everything, her sensations, seemed so _different,_ somehow. _What's going on?_ She found herself asking, and was surprised to discover that she wasn't using spoken words.

_It's alright, Miss Raven. I've turned us both into, well, into like, kinda like energy beings, kind of. But I've shifted our frequency? Is that the word? Yeah, our frequency so that he can't sense us. We're invisible to him. For now._

_And __you__ did this?_

_Yes, ma'am. But I can't keep it up forever; he'll find us. We have to do something!_

_Why can't I see anything?_

_Ordinary light passes right through us. Here._ And Raven could see, after a fashion, the objects in her room, but they seemed strangely out of focus. _That's some kinda long wave, longer than infrared. But I can't keep this up for long. He's searching for us even now._ And Raven could sense a powerful _presence_ moving through her room, seeming to look one way, then the other…._He'll find us soon. I can't hide us forever!_

Typhon was puzzled. He knew his information was correct; this was the place. But the sorceress was nowhere to be found…..

And something slammed into him with elemental force and yanked him, "bodily," out of the Tower.

{{_**LEAVE HER ALONE!**_}} And once again, the two beings collided, this time, right over the Tower itself. Light and thunder exploded overhead.

{{_**The girl must die! Surely, even you see that!**_}}

{{_**I see nothing of the sort. Leave her alone!**_}}

{{_**I must kill her! For the good of her world! For her own good, even**__!_}}

{{_**Then you'll have to go through me first**__._}} The Entity positioned himself between his Adversary and the Tower, even as he prepared himself for the struggle of his life….this wouldn't be anything remotely like an even fight; after all, with a portion of himself detached to assimilate the Osiran warriors on Jupiter, he wasn't at full strength…

_This part of me could die here this day._ But he prepared himself for it; no matter what, he would not be moved. _There are things—people-worth dying for._

And just then, the portion of Himself he'd detailed to recruit and assimilate the Osiran warriors rejoined the whole. The surge in energy was _tremendous._ Typhon was forced back, ever back.

Below them, the Orb had extended a major portion of itself over the Tower, in an effort to shield the Titans from the shockwaves of the clash. It wasn't wholly successful. Even with such shielding, the entire Tower shook and creaked and groaned.

Typhon considered. He hadn't been able to find the girl, so, really, this battle was pointless. Plus the enemy was now stronger than ever before, for some reason. He didn't know why the Entity was so dead-set against his doing what needed to be done, but nothing was to be gained by another head-to-head clash, right here this close to a major habitation of humans. That would only produce needless destruction, and he'd been seeking to avoid that very thing. So he withdrew, returning to the _Starheart._ All the while wondering where Missy could've gotten off to.

Titans' Tower: The Orb gradually retracted its night-black shield from around the Tower. Within Raven's room, Missy sighed in relief, relaxing her hold on both her and Raven's waveforms, returning them both to their standard physical form. She was exhausted. She didn't possess anything like Mr. Typhon's seemingly limitless strength, so, nearly fainting from the strain, she had to pause a moment to catch her breath. Maybe several moments.

She hoped Mr. Typhon wouldn't be mad at her, but when she'd "overheard" his plans, to actually _kill_ someone, she'd found she just couldn't go along with it. So, with the years of experience she'd had in hiding from people translating over into her new life, her new abilities, she'd concealed herself from him…and hurried to warn Miss Raven.

Raven studied the little girl who'd saved her. "Uh, Missy, is it? Who, exactly, are you?" But Missy was still gasping for air, trying to regain her composure.

The other Titans rushed up, having been alerted by the clash of the two beings, both in Raven's room and then overhead. "What happened?" Robin demanded.

"Not sure." Raven didn't take her eyes off the girl, who was just now getting back to what she guessed was normal. "But I think I owe someone my life."

Suddenly, Missy stiffened. "The other one…he's here." And a figure coalesced from pure light right in front of them.

It was the first time Raven had ever actually seen the Entity, or rather, the avatar he used to interact with humans. But it fit him to a "T": the monk's robe, the red infinite regression eyes, everything. It just couldn't be more _him._

The Entity strode over to Missy, ignoring the assembled heroes. Missy shifted uneasily, unsure as to whether or not to try to hide. But he knelt before her, taking her small hand in his. "You saved my friend's life today. I am in your debt."

"Then could you….would you do me a favor?"

"Ask. It shall be yours."

"Could you please not destroy the world? I mean…." She trailed off, uncertainly.

The figure in front of her smiled a kind of a sad smile. "I'll certainly do my best." And he rose and, glancing at Raven, who was staring, wide-eyed at him, nodded without saying a word, and vanished.

Robin was staring hard at Raven. "Raven? Is there something you need to tell us?"

…

Ten minutes later, in the conference room: The assembled Titans, _sans_ Terra, were looking at Raven, who sat in her usual position, hood up, eyes down. "Raven?" Robin asked, for the second time, "Is there something we need to know?" Terra had taken Missy to the kitchen. She was the hungriest little thing Robin had ever seen, well, that is, apart from Terra when she'd first joined them.

Raven sighed. She guessed now was as good a time as any. "Yes. A while back, for reasons I don't need to go into, I found it necessary to travel to an alternate universe. I was in contact with this Entity at the time, and that was part of the reason I felt it necessary to…leave for a while…" She went on to give them a brief, somewhat edited version of her adventures in the other world.

Once she'd finished, they sat there, a bit stunned. "I…see," said Robin, in a tone of voice that said he really didn't. "Aaand…you were gonna tell us this when? I mean, considering recent events, don't you think we should've been informed that you were in communication with one of the very beings responsible for all this?"

Again Raven sighed, holding her head in her hands, not meeting his gaze. "Robin….please understand. Until just a few minutes ago, I couldn't even be sure the Entity was real. Yes, I know it did many things, both here and in that other world….or seemed to. But I really couldn't be sure it even existed. As you, Cyborg," she nodded to him, "and you, Beast Boy, found out some years ago, my mind isn't exactly like everyone else's. I….I frankly doubted my own sanity. Until just now, I had no independent corroboration that the thing was even real, or was even what I thought it to be, until we all saw it. Nothing that happened was totally beyond my own abilities to do, under the right circumstances."

"But you believed it to be real."

"Yes. Or so well imagined by me as to make no difference."

Robin leaned back. "Raven….I'm not altogether sure how to take this. I mean, really, what it comes down to is, you deliberately withheld vital information from us, your teammates, regarding critical events. How are we supposed to deal with that? How would _you_ deal with that?"

"Robin?" Hank spoke up for the first time. "Can I say something?" Robin nodded. "Look, everybody. I mean, regardless of my personal relationship with Raven, there are some things…you keep to yourself. For whatever reason. Maybe it's something you're not proud of, or something you just don't know how to, to start talking about. For example, I've never told you about the first time I…had to kill someone, in the middle east. It just doesn't make for good conversation, and, even though I had to do it, it's not something I like to talk or even think about. So, yeah, some things you just…don't talk about." He turned to Raven. "I'm not saying this is the same thing. And, yeah, I kinda got left out of the information loop, too. But my take on it is, and I know I'm a newcomer here, is that if Raven chose not to tell us about….certain things…going to another world, an' all, she must've had a darn good reason."

"Hank…that's not the point. I don't really care that much about her going off into this, this other universe. That's not it. The point is, she kept her, I guess you'd have to call it her _relationship_ with this thing, this Entity, from us. That's just not good team behavior. I can understand about keeping certain _unnecessary _things private and under wraps, but this…."

"If you want me to leave the Titans, I will." Raven's voice was tired. She felt drained, emotionally. "I can pack up and be gone by nightfall."

Hank looked at the rest. "I think it goes without saying that if Raven goes, I do, too."

"Me, too," said Beast Boy, leaning back, arms folded across his chest. He looked more determined than Robin could ever remember seeing him. "I can't speak for Terra, but I can speak for me."

"Calm down, all of you." Robin leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and rubbing his eyes. "Nobody's talking about kicking anybody out. But I admit, this is a bit of a shock. It's gonna take me some time to, well, to adjust to it, so to speak. Raven," he asked, a steely undertone in his voice, "Is there anything _else_ about you and this Entity that we should know about?"

"Only that we don't seem to be speaking right now. We…had a bit of an argument, and he, well, he left. Basically."

"An argument?" It was a question all by itself.

"Yes. After our…conversation with Typhon, I…confronted him with his long-range goals, about wanting to absorb everything and everybody into himself. He didn't deny it or attempt to make it sound like something else, but said I didn't understand about the assimilation process or the end result. He sees it as a, a benefit for everybody. And, by his understanding, it is. So of course that's his ultimate goal. Eventually. But how soon his 'eventually' is, I'm not altogether sure. But the upshot is, we had a falling-out. So, right now, we're….not communicating." She wondered if she looked as miserable as she felt. The Entity's apparent rejection of her had actually _hurt_, and had hurt more than she'd thought it would. It still hurt.

"But he still called you his _friend._ Right there in front of all of us. So it sounds like there's the possibility of, of what? Reconciliation?-here." He paused, obviously thinking. "How do _you_ feel about _him_?"

"I honestly don't know." She rubbed her own eyes. "Robin, I'll have to excuse myself now. I'm very tired, and I haven't been able to meditate for a couple of days now. Plus my sleep's been affected, too. So if you'll excuse me…..whatever disciplinary measures you feel are called for, I, of course, will have to accept, but for now, I just need to sleep."

Later, she sat in her room, cross-legged on her bed, rocking back and forth, sharply. She wasn't even aware she was doing that.

It had been a blow. Ever since first joining the Titans, she'd admired and respected Robin. He always seemed so self-assured, so confident, that he tended to inspire much of that same confidence in her, particularly at times when she'd needed it the most. And during the battle with Trigon, when he'd rescued her from her father's underground caverns, carrying her back to the surface world on his back and telling her stories, that admiration had deepened into a bond. She looked up to him, respected him immensely, more than she had ever allowed anyone to know. And she knew he had respected her, for her choices and her strength of will.

But now….

It had taken all of her formidable willpower to keep from breaking out in tears when she'd seen the look on his face. It was the look he'd give someone he found he could no longer trust. And could she really blame him?

And Starfire….

Ever since Starfire had landed on Earth, Raven had had a sneaking admiration for the alien princess. She was so beautiful, so fiery, so obviously and outwardly _emotional_. Raven had always been afraid of her own emotions, and with good reason. It had been strangely comforting to be friends with someone who was the exact opposite of the way she'd always felt she had to be.

But now…..now she couldn't even be sure they _were_ friends, anymore. Starfire had looked at her as if she were seeing her for the first time, as if trying to decide if she were her friend. Or…..not.

Raven's door, for the first time ever, was open. Not just a crack, either, but wide open, all the way. Normally, she kept it tightly locked, but, for some reason, now she wanted it open. Maybe she wanted to hear the normal chatter and hubbub of the Tower. The sounds of _life._

Beast Boy appeared in her doorway, glancing at the doorjamb from the hallway. "Rae? Did you forget to close your door?"

"No, Gar. I…wanted it open." She knew she should still be angry at him, for taking matters into his own hands earlier, but right then, she felt relieved that he was here. A friendly face….she _hoped_ his was a friendly face. Robin's face hadn't been too friendly the last time she'd seen him; neither had Starfire's, and she really couldn't blame either of them. Even Cyborg had looked a little…unsure. Was Gar going to reject her, too? That would just be too much to bear. "Come in, if you'd like."

He came over and sat by her on her bed. "I'd ask if you were alright, but it's pretty clear you're not." Raven said nothing; what was there to say? He was right. She was definitely not alright. She continued to rock back and forth, there on her bed, clutching her arms tightly to her, not looking at his face for fear of what she'd see there. He sighed to himself for a moment. No help for it, then. "Raven. Quit that, and come here." And he lay down upon her bed and drew her to him, so that she lay half-way across him, with him holding her tightly, her arm across him, her head resting on his chest, just like he did Terra when she was upset about something. There was nothing overtly sexual about the gesture, but they were as close as they could possibly be, right then. She felt herself relaxing, just a little, as if his 98.6 degree body heat was a warm sauna, with the pleasing, masculine scent of him relaxing her even further. "Just want you to know, no matter what, I'm with you one hundred fifty percent. I don't give the proverbial rat's you-know-what what your reasons were for not telling us, it doesn't matter. I feel the same way Hank feels: you must've had a good reason. Maybe in time, you'll tell us, but if you don't, that's cool, too. Can you accept that? From me?" She nodded, wordlessly, not taking her head from his chest. Lying with him like this, hearing those words, was…so reassuring. "And you already know how Hank feels. And just for the record, I just talked to Terra. She feels the same way. So that's close to fifty percent on your side."

She sniffled, throwing a leg over him, reflexively. She didn't even realize she'd done that until much later. Or what its implications could be. "More like forty-five percent."

He shrugged, still holding her. "Okay, so I suck at math. Sue me. It's still close." This elicited a smile from her. When had he grown up so, anyway? It seemed like just yesterday he'd been the annoying little brat she…

…couldn't seem to stay away from. Just to keep him out of trouble, of course. After all, somebody had to. But now….

Now, it was like _he_ was the older of the two, instead of being younger by a year. When had that happened? "Gar….there's something I need to tell you, about _why_ I went to that other world…" But here he put a finger firmly over her lips. "Raven. You know I turn into animals, right? And you know animals have certain instincts, right? Well, right now, those instincts are telling me that what you're about to say is something we'll both be better off if you don't say it. So let's go with that, for now, okay? Humor me, please?"

"Okay." Then realization seeped into her awareness. "Gar? Are we….lying down? In bed? Together?"

"Uhm, yes?" Inwardly, he tensed, slightly.

"And are you…holding me?" _And am I holding you?_

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Rae, you were rocking back and forth like a mental patient in a psych ward. I had to do something."

"No, I mean…Why?"

He was startled, not knowing what she meant. "Huh?"

"Why did you feel the need to do something? I mean, I mean I left you out, too, about the Entity. For that matter, why are you always…on my side? I, I haven't exactly been a very good friend to you in the past, at times…."

"Rae….you've been a better friend than you realize. You've always been your own worst critic." He thought for a moment. Then, "They say you choose your friends. I'm not so sure about that. I think, ever since you first popped up, there in that alleyway, looking like you didn't have a friend in the world-*"

"I didn't," she interjected.

"-with Star tearing up midtown, I just _knew_, somehow, that I was your friend. And that I…always had been, even before we met. I know that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but…" He shrugged again. "And, in the same way, I just know that I'll _always_ be your friend, and that I'll _always_ be on your side, no matter what." Holding her. "Frankly, I don't really understand all of it either. But I know it's true." She didn't dare look up at him, didn't dare make eye contact. He might sense what she was thinking, what she was feeling right then, and that would just never do. Not with him promised to another.

So instead she smiled, and snuggled down a little bit, lying there against him. "Well, 'thank you' seems so inadequate, but thank you. However," she continued, sniffling even more, and wiping her eyes and nose, "I think I'd best close that door. If Terra walked by and saw us like this, she'd crucify us both. Literally."

At that exact moment, something beeped in his pocket, making them both jump, slightly. Startled, he reached in and drew forth a small disk about the size and shape of an old-style pocket watch. "Hey. It's the Hunter comm unit they gave me. Maybe it's Talks to God." He switched it on and punched a button on the touchscreen.

"Talks to God? Who's that?"

"You remember. Those dinosaur-like aliens who rescued Tara and me from those parademons." He put the device to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Garfield?"_ Talks to God's voice sounded thinly over the communicator. _"Are you there? Are you well?"_

"Yes, sir. We're all here and okay, at least so far. Are you close by? I remember you saying this thing has a limited range…" Raven was staring up at him. Why?

"_We are just now passing the orbit of the sixth planet outward from your homestar. We expect to reach _Urth_ by another twelve of your hours. What has been going on? We noted the magnetic emanations earlier. What has been happening?"_

"Oh, gosh, Talks, what _hasn't_ been happening. I'll fill you in on it when you get here. But be careful coming in; we've got other company here, of the nonphysical variety. Could be dangerous. If you've got any kind of mental or psychic shields, now might be a good time to use 'em."

"_We will be careful. Until we meet, then."_

"Until we meet, my friend." Garfield switched off the comm unit, and turned back to Raven, who was still staring up at him, in open-mouthed astonishment, from within the embrace of his arm. She really had perfect teeth, he noted. So white they almost glowed in the dark. "What? What'd I do?"

"'_Sir'_? Did I actually just hear you call somebody _sir_?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well. Don't tell anybody. It'll ruin my rep."

_To be continued…._


	7. Chapter 7: Reunions

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 7: Reunions

The _Deson_ and her sister ship, the _Exor,_ made Earth orbit at precisely 2212 hours. (They could have arrived an hour earlier, but found themselves having to reassure an understandably nervous Justice League.) Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans were on the roof when the Hunter shuttle descended. Talks to God was first off the ship, introducing his companion, One Who Distracts the Prey, or simply Distracts the Prey. Distracts the Prey was noticeably younger than Talks to God, with sharper markings on his side and flanks, and a quick, alert manner, but one who nonetheless deferred to the older Hunter. "My friend," Talks to God said, approaching Garfield, clasping forearms with him in the customary Hunter greeting, "I am glad beyond measure to see that you are well."

"It's good to see you, too, sir. Uh, I believe you've met my teammates? But we've had a couple of additions since you were last here…."

A few minutes later, seated in the conference room, they told Talks to God all about the recent events regarding the two beings. "So right now, we're, like, a war zone, sort of. To be honest, we're still trying to sort it all out."

"I comprehend." The Hunter looked at the assembled Titans. "We have recently come from an area of this galactic spiral arm in which there is no life whatsoever. It is not just a matter of no higher life forms; this area—spanning many star systems—is actually completely _sterile._ We can find no explanation for it, at least, nothing in keeping with any theory of life development with which we are familiar. I must confess," he admitted, "It has me worried. I feel there is something _unnatural_ about it." Pause. "Do you think these beings may be responsible for such sterility?"

"It's entirely possible," mused Robin, "How did Fate put it? 'Their appearance usually coincides with a sudden catastrophic disappearance of life, throughout the stars'? Or words to that effect?"

Distracts the Prey respectfully signaled for attention, from his—for him—traditional Hunter seated position on the floor. "I know that I am young and inexperienced," he began, almost shyly, "but it does seem to me that many things may cause loss of life, though, I admit, few on such as scale as we have seen. Perhaps it would be wise to determine if one or both of these beings has visited the desolate sector, at any time during the past?"

Talks to God glanced fondly at his protégé. "Youth can have wisdom, if only they will. Did you not say you had some means of communicating with at least one of these beings?"

At that exact moment, Robin's T-cell went off. He answered it with a small scowl of annoyance. Who could it be? Everybody was here….

"_Robin?"_ Speedy's voice emanated from the speaker of the phone.

"Yeah, Speed. What's up? And what's with the late-night call?"

"_Is, uh, is Beast Boy there?"_

Puzzled. "Yes, he's sitting right across from me. Why?"

"_Have you guys seen Tara? Lately, I mean?"_

Robin frowned. "No. Should we have?"

"_Possibly."_ A slight hesitation. Then, _"We…may have a bit of a problem."_

…

Speedy, Bumblebee, and Aqualad met with Robin, Raven and Starfire in the adjacent conference room. Cyborg, Haywire, Beast Boy, and Terra had taken it upon themselves to bring the Hunters up to speed regarding recent events.

Speedy replayed the message on Tara's phone, the last conversation she'd had on it. When he was finished, he looked at the others. "Voice analysis says it's very, very close, but that's not Beast Boy's voice. But whoever it is, they were really, really good at it."

Robin turned to Speedy. "You went to the warehouse in question, right? And found nothing, of course."

Speedy sat back in his chair. "Pretty much. We did find her iPhone, but that's not much help, I know."

Robin chewed on a knuckle. "It's logical to assume that the same people who kidnapped her last time, snatched her this time. And they've had what, several days head start on us? So…..are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking 'Apokolips', yeah, I am."

…

Kitten sat in the minijet, nestled in Slade's lair, staring at nothing. She felt numb, in a way.

Slade had been a bad man, a very bad man. There was no question about that. But there was also the indisputable fact that he'd given his life for hers.

There was no doubt. Just before the VTOL jets had fully kicked in, Kitten had heard the staccato burst of machine gun fire, and a groan and a gurgle that could only come from someone mortally wounded. Even though she'd never heard someone die before, the sound had been unmistakable. Slade was dead. No question.

A single tear coursed down the side of her face, and she remembered a line from an old book she'd read as a child: _Evil indeed is the man for whom no woman will shed a tear._ What book had that been from? Well, it didn't matter.

She wiped her eyes and noticed her surroundings for the first time. With a start, she realized that she was in what had to be Slade's lair, his underground hideout. Of course; the autopilot had been programmed to return the minijet to its master's home base.

She raised the cockpit windscreen, and, with another start, saw Slade standing at the bottom of the ladder. But how? She was sure she hadn't been mistaken….besides, how could he have beaten her back here?

And then _another_ Slade joined the first….of course. These were his Slade-bots, that he'd often used via remote control. She hesitated before getting out of the cockpit; if they were programmed to defend the lair, this could get ugly. After all, the robots were fully capable of doing pretty much anything Slade himself could do….

But the drones just stood there, watching her. They made no move either to attack or defend. Cautiously, every so cautiously, she eased down the ladder to the ground, all the while preparing herself for the inevitable attack.

Except it never came. The drones just stood there, unmoving, watching her. As if they were _waiting_ for something.

Maybe Slade had failed to program them to attack intruders? Or maybe he'd set it up so they didn't see her as an intruder, just in case? "Uhm. Hello?"

No response. The drones just _stood_ there, looking at her…..

…..for direction. That must be it. Slade hadn't programmed them to defend the complex (especially from within), and he hadn't taken into consideration that he might not return from this mission. So these drones were basically waiting to be told what to do. She smiled.

This could be interesting.

…

New Genesis: Highfather Izaya had summoned his group of warriors for a meeting. "I have heard from the Source," he began. "Darkseid has come into possession of a power unlike any we have faced before. Given his nature, it is only a matter of time before he uses it. This cannot go unchallenged."

Lightray shifted. "We are of course with you, Highfather. But what power is it, and how has Darkseid come into possession of it without our knowledge? And why has he not yet used it? It is not like him to restrain himself so."

Izaya waved his hand. "I agree. The Source has told me that he possesses the power to move mountains. The only reason he has not already utilized it must be that his control over said power is not yet firmly established. So this may be our only time to strike, before he is able to cement his control. But it is the nature of this power that concerns me."

"How so?"

"The fact that Darkseid has not _already_ utilized it indicates, to me, that he does not yet possess total control over the power." Izaya paused, a look of concern coming over his face. "So this power may—in fact, very likely is—in the form of a living being. A living being not yet a willing pawn of Darkseid. The key words we must take into account are, 'not yet'." The assembled New Gods were silent, remembering the time when the Master of Apokolips had brainwashed Superman into believing himself to be Darkseid's adopted son. That had been bad.

Orion was thoughtful. Privately, he wished Metron were here, but Metron was often a questionable ally at best. Sometimes Orion wondered on just whose side the seeker of knowledge truly was. "There is no choice. We must attack, now, before Darkseid succeeds in turning this person, whoever it is, to his side."

"But we cannot. That would break the compact we have with Apokolips, and Darkseid knows it. We have no evidence that he has ensnared another in his web, and therefore no justification for acting." Highfather Izaya smiled. "Of course, there is nothing that says we cannot aid those _already_ involved, now is there?"

_To be continued…._


	8. Chapter 8: The Dead Live

Godwar, Part 2: Chapter 8: the Dead Live

Kitten's platform landed on top of the Tower. She noted the streamlined swept-wing shuttle there, and wondered whose it could be. Starfire met her at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, Kitten! You are back and safe! We were much the worried!" And she snared Kitten in one of her patented bone-bending hugs.

"Ugh…nice…ta…see…you…too…Star…could…you…let…up…can't…breathe…"

"Oh! Of course! Come. Much has happened while you were gone. We must bring you up to the speed." And she practically dragged Kitten down to the conference room where Beast Boy and the others were talking with the Hunters.

Kitten's eyes widened when she saw the aliens. There was no question as to what they were, and she deduced that the shuttle on the rooftop must be theirs. She'd fought the Gordanians, but it had been from a distance; it had been like fighting humans in funny-looking suits. But this was her first time to see real, live _aliens,_ at least in a noncombat-type situation, up close_._ They didn't look anything like the TV shows or movies.

"Ah, yes, Talks to God, this is one of our newer members-*"

"Yes, I'm Devil Cat." Kitten strode up to the alien, the one obviously in charge, introducing herself by her newly-adopted code name before Beast Boy could say her real name. She noticed he raised his eyebrows slightly. _Oh?_

The raptor-like alien rose from his seated/reclining position and turned to face her. While she was not able to really read expression on the alien Hunter's face, something about it seemed to indicate a kind of openness. He inclined his head first one way, then the other. She wondered if that gesture had some meaning. "Devil Cat. An interesting name. I am known as One Who Talks to God, or simply as Talks to God. And this is my student, One Who Distracts the Prey." Kitten stuck out her hand in the standard human gesture of friendship, and Talks to God clasped forearms with her, startling her a bit. She immediately got the hang of it, however. Something like the old Roman greeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, and found herself meaning it. There was no doubt as to what the aliens were: teeth and claws obviously designed for rending the flesh of prey. But there was a strange _honesty_ about their appearance and demeanor that she found…oddly refreshing. She could never say just how, but she got the impression, right off the bat, that she could actually _trust _these beings. And Kitten wasn't one to trust just anyone she'd just met…to the group, "I gather a lot of things have been happening while I was away. Is this like, a briefing? If so, I prob'ly need it as much as anyone."

…

Typhon sat in his crystal sphere, the _Starheart._ He hadn't been able to find Missy, and he was worried about her.

Could the Adversary have caught her, assimilated her? If he'd been remotely human, he'd have shuddered at the idea. As it was, he vehemently rejected it.

"Mister Typhon? I'm back." His virtual avatar spun his chair around to behold Missy, standing there, unharmed. His relief was obvious. "Jus' wanted to let you know I'm okay, is all."

He came over to her. "Missy, I am more glad than you will ever know to see you again. And you are well?"

"Yes, Mr. Typhon. Uhm. Mr. Typhon? There's something I think we need to talk about." If she'd been in a physical state, she'd have been sweating buckets.

…..

Robin, Starfire, and Raven, had met with Speedy, Aqualad, and Bumblebee in another conference room, to discuss the matter of Tara's disappearance. Beast Boy, Terra, and Haywire, along with Kitten and Cyborg , were detailing their adventures since they and the Hunters had last met. "And then we had to rescue Starfire—you met her-from the Gordanians. Except she ended up more or less rescuing herself." And _Robin_ had nearly needed rescuing, himself, once she woke up from the tranquilizer they'd given her. Of course, for him, it _had_ been a rather pleasant captivity… "But we have a suspicion—we've no facts to back it up—but we think there's a link between the crippled cruiser and these beings. The Orb told us about something out there, something coming this way, something that may have a bearing on these beings, here and now."

Talks to God looked puzzled. "Who is this Orb of whom you speak? I do not believe you have ever mentioned it before."

Beast Boy smacked his head. "Of course. The Orb's been here for some time now, helping out a lot. I guess I took it for granted that you two knew about each other. Well, we can fix that right now."

On the way down to the Orb's room, Garfield filled the Hunters in on their first encounter with the alien organism. "And we think it actually came from _outside_ the universe, attracted here by emotions. Honestly, it's been a good friend and a huge benefit for us, saving our lives—mine, included-on more than one occasion."

They reached the Orb's room. "Hold on a minute," he said, "I'll let the Orb know it's got company." He opened the door wide. "Orb? There's some people here who'd like to meet you. Are you up for it?"

{{**Barely, friend Garfield. The clashes of the two beings has left me what I suppose you'd call exhausted. I am not functioning at full capacity, but I am always glad to meet new friends.**}}

Gar turned to the Hunters, just outside the door. "C'mon in. It's right this way." And the two Hunters entered the Orb's room.

Immediately, two things happened that no-one was prepared for. One, the Hunters prostrated themselves on the floor, arms outstretched and eyes closed. "The One," murmured Talks to God, "Great One. We have finally found you." Distracts the Prey uttered something in the whistling, clicking, popping Hunter speech.

And two, the Orb shook violently and collapsed on the floor in a puddle of black goo.

…..

"Missy, you don't understand. I do not _want_ to kill anyone, but this book, this dark magical tome, is extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. And this _Raven_ person is exactly that. It is a matter of necessity, not desire."

Missy was silent. Then, "Mr. Typhon? Are you saying you have to kill someone to keep them from doing something bad?"

"Simplistically put, but yes."

"But doesn't everybody do something bad, sooner or later?"

Typhon's virtual avatar shook his head. "It's a question of _degree,_ Missy. Raven could very easily become a monster worse than your darkest nightmares. Given her background, she probably would."

Missy came up to him and hugged him. "Mr. Typhon, I love you. You were the first person to ever show any real care or love towards me." She looked up at him. "But what you're talking about is _murder_. It doesn't matter why.

"I have a idea. Isn't it the book that's the real danger? What if I go there and….sorta get rid of it. Somehow. Maybe I can talk to them. Then you wouldn't have to hurt anybody. Would you?"

He looked down at her fondly. Typhon wasn't even remotely human, but he could still appreciate his relationship with Missy. He wanted to protect her. "Missy….this is an extremely dangerous operation that you are contemplating. Normally, those in possession of such tomes will go to extreme measures to avoid losing them. You could easily be seriously hurt. Or worse."

"But I've already met Miss Raven. She seems like a nice person. Maybe….maybe I could just talk to her about the book. I might even be able to get it away from her, somehow. That would solve that problem, wouldn't it?"

"Well, yes," he grudgingly admitted, "but I still do not want to expose you to danger."

"But we're already exposed, sort of. Your enemy knows exactly where to find us, and he almost shattered the _Starheart_ last time. So there's danger we can't get away from, anyway. Please, Mr. Typhon, at least let me try! I don't want you to have to become a murderer!" Inside the _Starheart_, they were not physical beings as such, but virtual tears still streamed down her virtual face.

He held here, there, on the illusion of a crystal flooring open to space. In truth, _he_ didn't want to become a murderer, either. So after a long moment…"Very well. But only if your safety can be assured."

"Oh,Thank you, Mr. Typhon, and you will see. That will be no problem! I have already met some of them, and they seem nice enough." She deliberately omitted the part about meeting Typhon's Adversary, too. That would only worry him needlessly. "And if things do get bad, for any reason, all I have to do is teleport back here. Right?"

Typhon considered. What she had said was true. "Very well. If you can do this thing, it will be a great help to me and to your world. Go, then. Know you that, however this ends, you will always have a place to return to." And she vanished, flickering into an energy waveform, zeroing in on the Tower at the speed of light.

…..

_Okay,_ thought Beast Boy, _How do I deal with this? Which one first?_ To the two groups of beings as a whole: "Anybody wanna fill me in on just what's going on here? Talks to God? Orb?" He turned to Terra. "Get Raven down here." Raven _was_ their resident expert on the Orb. And he'd never seen the Orb exhibit this kind of behavior before. It looked like they'd need a bucket to pick the alien being up. Make that several buckets….

Raven arrived. "What's going on-*" She gasped when she saw the state of the Orb. "Orb!" Then, with her mind: {{_**Orb! Whatever is the matter?**_}}

{{**This cannot be!**}}

{{_**But what's wrong?**_}}

{{**These beings are dead!**}}

Raven reached out with her preternatural senses, examining Talks to God and Distracts the Prey closely. It wouldn't be the first time something that was unalive had manifested itself_….._but…..{{_**Orb, I…you must be mistaken. These entities are alive. I don't understand what is causing you such distress.**_}}

{{**You do not understand! Before you and I ever met….I killed them!** **These are the bipeds of whom I told you about, those whom I, in my youthful ignorance, killed with the asteroid!**}}

_To be continued…_


	9. Chapter 9: Time Changes

Godwar, Part 2: Chapter 9: Time Changes

Raven ran everybody out of the room except the Hunters and the Orb. "But what-*" Beast Boy tried to ask.

"I don't know myself yet, but I do know I can't deal with ten thousand people asking me what's going on. I'll explain as best as I can, once I understand it myself. For now, just _go._" Once they were gone, she turned to the Hunters and the Orb. The Orb was just now trying to right itself, pushing itself up from the floor in a vaguely—very vaguely—humanoid posture. The Hunters remained in their prostrate position. "Talks to God? Distracts the Prey? I need you both to stand up now. We need to, to find out what's going on here. Okay?"

"Of course, friend Raven." Both Hunters arose, but still kept their heads respectfully inclined towards the Orb, who was struggling to regain its former spheroid shape.

"Okay. Are we all…able to hear one another? Orb? You can communicate with both them and me, at the same time, can't you?"

{{**Y-yes, Friend Raven. But I do not understand what is going on.**}}

"Are you _certain_ these are the same beings you destroyed?"

{{**I am not mistaken. There are slight differences in their physical form, but I recognize their aura. They are the same. I cannot be mistaken.**}}

"Great One," Talks to God began, "You did not destroy us. You _saved_ us. Do you not remember?" When the Orb didn't reply, he went on. "My kind has racial memory. I remember it as if it had happened to me…."

_A world full of peaceful plant-eaters, grazing normally, dull animal thoughts going through their heads, always keeping their young in the middle of their circle, for protection. It was nighttime._

_Suddenly, a light appeared in the sky, a light not that of the moon. A light that grew. The herbivores looked up in alarm. Fire in the sky?_

_The light grew __bigger.__ The herbivores instinctively felt danger approaching. They didn't know anything to do except run, so run they did, first one way, then the other. But where does one run to, to escape the falling sky?_

_The fire in the sky grew bigger…._

_And suddenly, it was as if the night itself grew arms, arms that reached down from the sky, arms that wrapped themselves around the falling star….two, four, ten…._

_And with a wild screech heard only in their minds, the meteor was wrenched from its trajectory, pulled away from the planet, arcing out and away…._

…_.fragments of it falling to the ground, producing impact damage, igniting spreading fires. The herbivores, running to and fro, trying desperately to escape the blazes….._

…_..and darkness, reaching down from the heavens, cutting off the wildfires, shielding the herbivores from the heat and choking inhalations…._

_And another bit of darkness, darker than the night sky, that spoke to them, calmed them._

_The herbivores found themselves in a different world. Food was not quite so plentiful as before, and the climate was not what it once was. Faced with these changes, they had to change, themselves._

_In this, they had help._

_The One taught them about the necessity of making weapons, of hunting food sources that gave them more energy, and about that curious, dangerous, but very useful thing called _fire_, that they could use to protect themselves, and to produce artifacts stronger and more durable, better suited to their new needs, than those carved from wood and stone._

_And the One changed them. They went from herbivores to carnivores, eaters of meat. Their minds became keener, more intelligent. They learned of the necessity of the hunt, and of courage, respect, and the honor that belongs in a society of hunters banded together for mutual survival against a hostile universe._

"_Strive for justice._

"_Defend the weak._

"_Avenge the helpless."_

_They built a civilization based upon that, and other teachings, and, in time, that civilization began to spread beyond the confines of the planet that had birthed them…._

_A civilization based on the warrior's __honor__._

{{**But—but that is not what I remember happening! Raven! I do not understand what-**}}

"Wait, wait, everybody. Calm down." She spoke soothingly; the Orb seemed almost on the verge of what humans termed a "nervous breakdown." She could understand why. When one's memories are proven to be obviously false…."Wait. Orb, didn't you once tell us you had the ability to move through time, to a limited degree? That's how you brought Omega into the here and now, wasn't it?"

{{**Y-yes….**}}

"I'll bet that's what's happened. Your _future self_ contacted your past self and explained the danger of the falling meteor. In a sense, it created a whole new timeline. You, the you I'm talking to now, came from a timeline that no longer exists."

{{**Then how can I remember it?**}}

"I don't know, and maybe it doesn't matter. _This_ is the timeline that exists now." She turned to Talks to God. "Was finding the Orb—the One, as you call him—the purpose of your explorations?"

"Of course."

"Well, now that you've found him, now what?"

Talks to God thought for a moment. "There are many variables. Originally, we were to invite him to return with us, to live in an exalted position on our home world. After all, were it not for him, we would not be."

"Is he your god?"

"No, not exactly." Talks thought for a moment. "The closest analogy, in your language, would be that we regard him as a _piece_ of God. Certainly an emissary."

She turned to the Orb. "Orb? How do you feel about all that?"

{{**I—I do not know….**}}

At that exact moment, Robin burst in, his face grim. "We've got a problem, people. Main conference room, _stat._"

….

Ten minutes later, the main conference hall: The assembled Titans, including the Hunters and even a piece of the Orb, sat looking at each other. "Speedy. Tell us what's happened."

They listened while Speedy detailed the faked call and Tara's disappearance. "And Beast Boy told us there were parademons on that last ship that took her. So we have to assume a worst-case scenario: Darkseid's kidnapped her. Again. And this time, he's got a significant head start."

"So….what's the general consensus?" Raven asked. "What exactly are we talking about here?"

Robin's face couldn't look more grim. "There's no choice in the matter. We have to go get her back."

"Uh, Robin?" This from Cyborg. "This isn't the same thing as invading Markovia. Apokolips is a whole freakin' _planet_ devoted to war. Even the Green Lantern Corps would hesitate to go there. And even assuming we could get there more or less undetected, we'd still have a whole planet to search through. This job's just too big for us. I'm not sure but what it's too big for the Justice League."

"Cy…" Robin began, rubbing his eyes beneath his mask, "You don't understand. We don't have a choice in this. For two reasons: One, regardless of how we—some of us-" and here he glanced at Terra, whose face was a study in unexpressiveness,"—may feel about her personally, Tara's one of us. And she was taken, just like Starfire was. We can't let that go unchallenged.

"But there's another, much more practical reason: we can't let Darkseid get control of powers like hers. You remember a while back when he brainwashed Superman. That was bad enough, but Supes is notoriously difficult to clone. Tara would be a piece of cake, by comparison. Remember the trouble Terra caused, back when she was working for Slade? Imagine a hundred Terras. A thousand. Maybe a million. All of them devoted to Darkseid.

"And given the state of Apokolips's technology, I don't doubt Darkseid has some way of, of, boosting her power level, to where she could maybe throw whole asteroids, maybe even whole planets. The process would probably burn her out, but as long as he can make more clones, he won't care."

"He's right," broke in Terra, seated by Garfield. "I hate her guts, but he's right. I wouldn't want to see anybody subjected to that. And, yes, given a battalion of clones of me, Darkseid could _literally_ rehape the universe in his own image. So we have to go get her back. Either that or….." She fell silent, looking at the table.

There was dead silence around the table. The Hunters looked around, then at each other, questioningly. Robin glanced at Angelique, sitting by Kitten at the far end of the table. The silence was complete; one could have heard a pin drop.

"…or," finished Robin, looking miserable, "make sure she's no longer of any use to Darkseid."

"In other words," began Raven,"…."

"Yes. Exactly that. We have to deny her powers—her genetic makeup—to Darkseid. One way or another."

_To be continued…._


	10. Chapter 10: Alliances

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 10: Alliances

Talks to God spoke up for the first time since the meeting had begun. "Excuse me, but I am comprehending this correctly, am I not? One of your own has been abducted by this Darkseid?"

"That's correct."

"And you plan to rescue her?"

"If possible, yes."

The two Hunters looked at each other for a moment. Then, Talks spoke up again. "We are with you in this endeavor."

Robin shook his head. "I thank you, sir, but this really doesn't concern you. You needn't get involved…"

"We are already involved. A friend of our friends has been abducted, and is very likely to be subjected to mistreatment. To do nothing about it would be to dishonor the teachings of the One," and here, he inclined his head towards the Orb, "as well as our own honor. I believe I can speak for all of us when I say we could not sit idly by and let this injustice happen. Honor would not permit it."

"Well, don't get me wrong," said Robin, "If you're determined, we could sure use the help. Just as long as you know what you're getting into. At least….at least we may have a way of getting there. Now if we just had some idea where to look…."

A throat cleared behind him. "In that," said Highfather Izaya's holographic image, materializing right behind Robin, "We may be able to help."

…

While Highfather Izaya was not physically present, he did send them detailed maps of their target, Apokokips, and its major city, Armaghetto. "It is quite possible the girl is being kept here." His holographic finger traced a line to a pyramid-shaped structure. "Virmin Vunderbar's fortress. Ever since their recent reunification underneath their dark master, it has been combined with Granny Goodness's orphanage, and is a place where new recruits are taken for initial processing." A concerned look flashed across his kindly face. "If so, time is of the essence. The initial stages of this processing are….less than pleasant. To understate the matter greatly."

Robin bit his lip. "This 'processing'…."

Izaya spread his hands. "Darkseid will break her. If she is as young and inexperienced as you say, this will not be that hard a task. But it will, of course, be highly unpleasant for the girl. Then he will….rebuild her, I suppose you'd say. To be his absolute, adoring slave. With many humans, this is really not that hard a process."

"She wouldn't be the first person—the first hero, even—to break under torture. Yeah, I understand. Well. Let's review our resources, shall we? Orb? Are you in on this?"

{{**Of course, Robin.**}}

"Talks to God? We all would _really understand_ if your people decided this wasn't their fight…"

"Robin. Might I have a few words with the One, please?"

"Of course." The rest moved off a ways, so as to give the Hunters some room with the Orb. Talks to God spoke with the Orb in the whistling, clicking Hunter speech. Distracts the Prey still seemed a little shellshocked, but nodded at several things Talks to God said.

The Talks to God produced his communicator and said what the onlookers guessed was a few words with his commanding officer. At the conclusion of which, the Orb….disappeared.

On board the bridge of the _Deson,_ the Orb materialized, right in front of Seer of the Way. Seer's eyes grew twice as big when he saw the blacker-than-black, not-quite-there phenomenon that was the Orb. "Great One….!" Talks to God had warned him, but it was still a shock, to have the object of their centuries-long search, basically standing right in front of him.

The Orb "spoke" up, its image relayed to all the other ships in the fleet. {{**I am the One. I bring you greetings, and welcome, my children.**

**A great evil has occurred to an innocent upon the planet below. I go with others to right this injustice. Let those who would follow me, do so.**}} And then, it flickered out.

{{**There,**}} it said, rematerializing in the Titans' conference room. {{**I have relayed the message you instructed me to relay. Though I am not sure what good it will do.**}}

The two Hunters looked at each other. Though their faces were _alien,_ Robin, watching them, got the distinct impression that it was a _knowing_ look. "Anyway. Resources. Kitten? Can you work the Osiran matrix device, get us to Apokolips?"

"Hey," spoke up Angelique. They'd almost forgotten she was there. "Don't forget about me!"

Robin went over to her. This would take tact. "Angelique. Look, this…is really not something you need to get involved in…."

"Oh, no, not again!" She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him.

"…but I tell you what: I'll make a deal with you. Ask your Father Alpha for his permission. If he says yes, then I have no problem with you going with us." There. That ought to take care of _that, _he thought.

Angelique studied him for a long, long moment. For perhaps the first time, he realized that, although she _looked_ like a little human girl, she really wasn't, not anymore. Her expression proved impossible to read. "Alright. I'll do it."

…

{{Absolutely not, daughter.}}

{{But Father Alpha….*!}} Angelique had teleported back to the Kindred's hive.

{{Do not 'But Father Alpha' me. This 'Apokolips' sounds like the last place in all creation you should go. No. That is final.}} Then he softened, somewhat. {{Child, listen. Think. This is a _very_ dangerous mission your friends are embarking on. They might not come back, even with all the help these Hunters and this Orb can provide. And if they do not, who will care for this city you wish to protect? How will you ever find your mother?

{{And there is another matter. It is entirely possible that you yourself may be caught, captured. You know you are powerful. Would you really have the technology that makes you so powerful fall into the hands of this Darkseid? That would be somewhat counterproductive, do you not think?

{{And another matter still. If your friends do not come back, but are captured, they may need rescuing themselves. You would be able to provide valuable, indeed, vital information to whomever goes to do so. So there are many reasons for you to stay, and no good reason for you to go. The matter is settled.}}

Angelique was silent for a long, long moment, eyes downcast. Then she sighed. {{You are right, Father. I see that now. As always, your logic is flawless. I cannot argue with it.}} She came up and hugged him. {{I will go to my room, now.}} And she left.

…

Back at the Tower, Robin was still assessing their available resources. He was a little proud of himself for coming up with such an airtight way of keeping Angelique out of danger. Once she got a little older, she'd be a valuable member of the team, but for right now, no matter how powerful she was, the fact remained that she was a child, and he just couldn't sanction her going into a battle like this. He wished _none _of them had to.

Highfather Izaya had given them detailed maps of the place where Tara was most likely being held, but had stressed that few things on Apokolips remained stable for long. The hologram of the warrior with him, Orion, had looked like he desperately _wanted_ to accompany them, but he'd said nothing. Robin could understand: for Orion to get involved directly would violate the uneasy truce between Apokolips and New Genesis.

Kitten, Hank and Talks to God joined him at the table. The Orb was nearby, looking over their shoulders, that is, in the sense that anything without visible eyes could be said to look. "Okay," he said, "best way is in and out, fast as possible. That whole place is one huge deathtrap. We don't go wandering down hallways looking for her. In fact, if we can, let's find out where she is, and just plain knock down a few walls to get to her. It's not like we can sneak in and out, anyway. Cy, we got anything that could do that?"

"If you do not, we do," interjected Distracts the Prey. "Coherent spacial displacement beam. We use it for slicing obdurate materials. It will not matter what these walls are made of; their substance will be subject to teleportation like all other matter, once the space-time around and throughout them warps."

"Good deal. Talks? You're sure your people are behind us on this? I mean, if not, now's the time to say-*"

"Robin," Talks to God broke in, almost sharply, "as a friend, I advise you never to use that particular wording in the hearing of any other of my kind, regarding this matter, or one like it. Distracts the Prey and I understand your concern, but to suggest that we would _not_ accompany you, would _not_ follow the One….well, many would regard that as an insult to our collective honor. And to even vaguely hint that some of us might turn back and leave you once we arrived at this Apokolips…..well, I would not imply that, were I you."

Robin colored. "I'm sorry, Talks to God. I guess I misspoke."

"You did, but the misspeaking is forgivable. _This_ time."

_Warrior race,_ assessed Robin, beginning to grin. _Think low-key, rational Klingons. Could be whooooole lots worse._ "Okay, people, let's get busy…."

…

Tara came to consciousness, wondering where she was. Wherever it was, it was completely dark and _hot_. And she couldn't move. She couldn't even wiggle.

With a start, she realized she was tied onto an 'X' shaped frame, and that she was totally and entirely naked. Even her earrings were gone. The frame she was lashed to pushed her hips outward somewhat, and pulled her arms back, so that she felt horribly _exposed._ _Exhibited,_ even. Like she was on _display_. And there was no doubt, from the position she found herself in, that it was intended to be a _sexual_ display.

She tried to use her powers, to free herself, but nothing happened. Again and again she tried, with a mounting sense of desperation, but with no result. It was as if her powers were just gone. With a sinking sensation, she realized that her condition wasn't likely to change anytime soon, or, if so, not for the better.

Few people strip a girl naked and tie her, spread-eagled to a frame, for any _good_ purpose.

Then the lights came on, and she _knew_ there was no good purpose to it.

The green-clad figure in the room might be described as "matronly," but one look at her face cured Tara of any feelings other than fear. It was the face of someone who not only could do horrible things to someone, but would actually rather enjoy it.

"Well," said Granny Goodness, clipboard in hand. "I see that you've decided to wake up and rejoin us. Good, good. Now we can get started."

_To be continued…_


	11. Chapter 11: Fears and Assurances

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 11: Fears and Assurances

Raven returned to her room, as the others took a break. She tried not to show it, but inwardly, she was petrified.

This, she knew, was a suicide mission.

In theory, she agreed with Robin. They had to either retrieve Tara or destroy her, even down to her genetic makeup. But their chances of doing so were small.

Their chances of returning from this mission, unscathed, were even less.

Fact: they had, at best, sixty-seven starships: their own plus the Hunter fleet. And there was no telling how many ships Darkseid had, but it was probably more than sixty-seven. Actually, she thought grimly, they really only had sixty-six; their own T-ship, by any realistic tactical evaluation, was little more than a shuttle.

The Green Lantern Corps, and the Justice League, had never actually invaded Apokolips for a reason: the casualty count would be tremendous. After all, no matter what powers any group of people possessed, Darkseid could always just throw parademons at them, maybe by the millions, until they were worn down. That wasn't even counting his elite, who were a force to be reckoned with, all by themselves. She didn't know all the powers the Orb had, but she wouldn't have been terribly surprised to discover that Darkseid had some way of countering them. And then there was Darkseid himself.

Standing in the middle of her room, hood up, she waited. She wasn't exactly sure just what she was waiting for.

Absolute silence. Her door was closed and locked. Tightly. And she thought.

She had been angry with the Entity. But why? It had _told_ her that it wanted to absorb everything, assimilate all. Why was it that Typhon telling her that—again—had set her off so?

Raven went over and sat, cross-legged on her bed, floating in mid-air. She tried to clear her mind of all stress, all worries; she sent her consciousness inward, seeking answers.

She had always felt….used, somehow. There was no other word for it. The people of Azerath had, in a sense, used her and her emotions as an example of how not to be. Trigon had used her as a human portal to Earth. Malchior…..

She paused, mentally. Of them all, Malchior's betrayal, his using of her, had hurt the worst. She'd actually thought, for a little while, that there was someone in all the universe who actually understood her, who'd actually cared about her, someone who would just….be with her. At least for a little while, she hadn't been so _alone_. She could still remember that feeling of, of, there was no other word for it, _bliss_. And, yes, she had looked forward to the inevitable lovemaking, could still remember her fantasy of how it would be, just her and her love, there in her room….

Then, the betrayal, and the happy little schoolgirl fantasy world she'd been building for herself had crashed in about as violently as it possibly could, short of a thermonuclear strike, and she'd been alone, again. After that, in spite of Beast Boy's (dare she think it?) innocent and even sweet attempts to let her know she wasn't, she knew she _was_ alone, and would always be so, because of who and what she was. That she'd even gone so far as to share kisses with Hank was a huge intimacy for her. It had all been very nice and pleasurable, but she couldn't shake the notion that even _he_ was using her, that once he had satisfied his own physical needs with her body, he'd have no further use for her, as a person, anymore. And the bad part was, as an empath, she _knew_ that belief to be false, but…..

…..some part of her still believed it. She just didn't see what _anybody_ would ever, _could_ ever, see in her. After all, she was stupid, ugly, immature, and just plain undesirable for any number of reasons.

And so her soul was wrapped away, hidden tightly behind emotional barriers of her own construction. She would never come out. Never. Not to be hurt, all over again. It was just too painful.

So now, she took the time to assess her situation, to face the matter as coldly and logically as she could. It was really pointless to be angry at the Entity. She guessed, really, none of what had happened had really been the Entity's fault, exactly. Maybe she'd….taken something he'd said the wrong way, or, or maybe she'd misunderstood his actions. He'd shown her kindness, true, doubtless for his own reasons, of course, but still. In her naiveté, she'd simply misconstrued that as an indication that he really care-*

{{_**Raven?**_}}

She was jolted out of her reverie by the Entity's "voice" sounding in her mind. {{**Yes? You—you're here**?}}

{{_**Yes, Raven. I'm here.**_}} There was an uncomfortable pause. Where should she begin? There really had been no rational reason for her anger; maybe she'd just been having a bad day—she seemed to be having a lot of those lately—but she felt like she'd actually been sort of unfair to the creature, in a strange sort of way. Yes, it might be —make that probably was-still the enemy, or an enemy, or something, but there was no point in being angry with it just for being what it was. That only clouded up _her_ emotions, causing her to react in an irrational manner, as she'd done. She took a deep breath for what she was about to say….

{{_**I'm sorry.**_}} Raven's breath was knocked completely out of her. "Wh-what did you say?" Those were two words she would _never_ have thought to hear from the prideful Entity.

{{_**I said I'm sorry. I'm sorry if anything I said or did, whether directly or indirectly, caused you pain. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry if I hurt you.**_}} Then, as she was reeling from the shock of those words, it stunned her yet again with four more words she would have never thought she'd hear, not from the Entity, not ever. The four most powerful words in the English language. {{_**Will you forgive me?**_}}

….

"We can't let the Justice League know about this," Robin was saying to the group. They'd reconvened back in the main meeting hall; Raven had not yet rejoined them. "They'd nix it in a heartbeat. For all I know, some of them might even warn Apokolips about an impending invasion, just to cover themselves. After all, nobody wants Darkseid and company invading Earth, and God knows he doesn't need much provocation.

"So we go in hot, slash and burn, grab Tara, and smash our way out. No subtlety. We don't go out of our way to confront anybody, and we avoid the heavy hitters as best as we can. Parademons, well, we'll probably have to contend with our share of those, and maybe any new recruits Granny Goodness may have. But avoid 'em if possible. If you can't—"here, he drew a deep breath—"don't hold back. 'Cause they won't. The normal rules of engagement don't apply here; do what you have to, to survive. Kitten? Can you rig up the matrix generator to, like, retrieve us from wherever we are, once the mission's complete?"

"Like we did with Markovia? Maybe. But remember, Robin, Darkseid has boom-tube technology, too. He may have some way of nullifying or somehow blocking it. We'll probably have to at least be out in the open, somewhere."

"That thought occurred to me. So here's the deal: we send in the T-ship, cloaked as best as we—and the Hunters," he nodded to Talks to God and Distracts the Prey, standing close by, their comm links open to the _Deson_, the same message being relayed to the Hunter flagship, and thereby all of them, "can make it. Stash it….somewhere. Somewhere dirtside, but hidden, so that, worst-case scenario, all of us that can, can make it to the ship. And maybe at least get off the planet.

"Talks to God? We're going to depend on your people to provide the distraction we'll need to go in and get Tara. But there's a complication.

"Not everyone on Apokolips is a combatant. There are the 'lowlies,' they're called, the civilians, not members of Darkseid's forces, but just the general population." He bit his lip. "I hate to bring destruction down upon them; they're not to blame for any of this. But I don't see any way around it."

Talks to God was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke into the communicator, in the whistling, clicking Hunter speech. "Perhaps casualties among these noncombatants can be minimized. If we have the element of surprise, we can immobilize most of their armored divisions, air, space, and any concentrated ground troops we can identify. There may still be civilian casualties, of course, but that is unavoidable, as you say."

Robin nodded. "It'll have to do. In and out, fast as we can. Say," he looked up, looking around, "Where's Raven? I hate to have to go over all this again…."

"I'm right here, Robin." Raven casually walked into the room. Robin stared. They all did, except for the Hunters.

When Raven had been under Malchior's thrall, her robes had turned a pure white. He'd come to realize that the color of her garments shifted, somehow, in response to her emotional state. White indicated happiness, or a feeling of wholeness. Red indicated anger or rage; pink was her "girly" color (which she very, very rarely exhibited), while green was her kick-butt persona.

Now her garments were the same color as always, but….there was something different about her, maybe something about her expression…. "Uhm. You alright?"

"Of course."

"Well, anyway, the plan-*"

"You don't have to go over it, Robin. I'm aware of the plan."

"You are? How?"

"Tell you later." She sat down, crossed her legs, and hooked her hands around her knees. "I gather time is of the essence."

…..

"But what are you gonna _do_ to me?" Tara's voice rose another notch in desperation, as Granny Goodness continued to make notes on her clipboard.

"Oh, nothing much. Not at first. This is just the initial processing. Tomorrow morning, you'll be given over to some specially trained and prepared parademons. _Male_ parademons, I might add. When they're done with you, I'll come back and reassess you to see what more needs to be done." She saw Tara's expression, and got a thrill from the look of horror on the girl's face. "Oh, don't worry, dearie, they won't _kill_ you; they've been too well trained for that. But I wouldn't try resisting them, if I were you. Parademons are very strong, and they can be rather rough on their toys." With that, she left, leaving Tara alone with her thoughts…..and fears.

So. Tomorrow morning, she'd be given over to beasts, to be raped into submission, raped until she was broken, in body, mind, and spirit. It was a pattern as old as humanity itself: take someone, torture them to the breaking point and beyond, all the while letting them know that blessed relief is theirs for the asking, if only they'll _cooperate._ If not, they have nobody to blame but themselves. It wasn't unusual for even strong-willed people to break under that kind of sustained pressure.

And rescue was just not gonna happen. Not only was she not on Earth, but, as she understood it, she wasn't even in the same vibrational _universe_ as Earth. Nobody _could_ come to her rescue, especially not here, at the very center of this evil planet, this evil empire.

Tara was under no illusions about the ordeal facing her. She doubted her sanity would survive the nightmare that was to come, but her tormentors wouldn't care about that, so long as she was compliant.

Tara Zharkov, Terra's clone, had not really been alive all that long. Although she had some of Terra's memories, she simply hadn't had the life experiences, herself, that breed courage. In all her three years of actual life, she just simply hadn't experienced all that much. So perhaps she could be forgiven for twisting around, trying desperately to find a way to open one of the veins in her arms…

…..

Terra was waiting for Beast Boy to their room. Entering the room, he noticed two things: one, the bassinet, the one they'd finally decided upon, was over by the corner of the room. Terra herself had stripped down to her underwear ((But why? It wasn't quite time for their nightly shower ritual, yet). Now she approached her fiancé with a certain amount of what Garfield could only categorize as grim determination. "Take off your clothes, Gar."

"Uh…Terra? What are you doing?"

"Stripping you." And in a surprisingly little time, she had pretty much done just that; he had to lift his feet to let her get his boots off. "Terra, you're starting to scare me, a little." He'd never seen her act this way before.

She slipped out of her bra and panties, and stood before him just as naked as he was. She looked him in the eye, very seriously, putting her arms around his neck, drawing his face down towards hers. He'd never seen her this, this solemn before. This _determined. _"Garfield," her warm breath caressing his face, arousing him all the more because it was _hers_. "Tomorrow we invade a planet full of superbeings, devoted to war on a cosmic scale. You know there is a very good possibility that one or both of us won't be coming back." She pressed up against him, moving her groin, her genital area, against his in a most sensual manner, rubbing her leg up against his thighs. "We don't have the luxury of waiting until the wedding night anymore, darling. I want you in me. Now. Tonight."

"Terra…."

"I know: you want me to wear white. Well, we don't have to tell anybody, now, do we? Besides," she continued, exploring him with her hands, arousing him further than he thought was even possible, "like I said: one or both of us might not come back. And call me selfish, but I don't want my only memory of sex to've been with Slade. So don't fight me on this, 'kay?" And she drew him over to their bed, and glanced down, a half-smile on her face as she kissed him. "'Sides. Looks like _part_ of you is with the program on this." She drew him down to her, guiding him in. A soft whisper. "I just gotta work on the area from the neck up."

That didn't prove to be all that impossible a task.

_To be continued…._


	12. Chapter 12: The Best Defense

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 12: The Best Defense…

The Hunter fleet emerged from the boom tube less than five million miles from Apokolips, already moving at high speed. Robin hoped that would be surprise enough, but he was taking no chances. Neither was Farseer, who'd ordered a contingent of the fleet to fall back, until the planet's defensive capabilities could be assessed.

Immediately, missiles and warbeams began streaming towards the planet below. The attackers had caught the planet's defenders completely off-guard, and fire blossomed on the surface of the already devastated world, as explosions of atomic magnitude shattered the more obvious air and ground support strongholds. Various troop barracks were turned into smoldering holes in the ground within the space of a few seconds.

Response was not long in coming. Arcing up from the planet below came a steady stream of surface-to-space missiles, followed by satellite-based beam weaponry, zeroing in on the Hunter fleet. Point defense neutralized most of the missiles, but even so, the great ships' shields flared and rocked as they neutralized the impact of both.

Robin surveyed his troops: Raven, Starfire, Haywire, Cyborg, Kitten—make that _Devil Cat,_ he reminded himself-, Beast Boy, Terra, Mas y Menos, Speedy, Aqualad, and Bumblebee. A dozen against a planet of death. He sighed inwardly; it would never do to let the others know how little he thought of their chances in this. But it had to be done. "Alright. Go with the plan: Seer, you and the Hunters do your stuff." He drew a deep breath, and nodded to Kitten. "Okay, Kitt—I mean, Devil Cat. Let's get this show on the road."

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg silent-tubed into the center of the pyramid shaped fortress, for which Izaya had provided them the plans. Robin already had his hand full of explosive birdarangs, and his _bo_ staff was ready. He bit back the wish for something a bit more deadly….

Starfire and Robin, followed by Cyborg, set off down the corridor. If their maps were right, they should be right next door to the main holding chamber. Highfather Izaya had not been able to tell them precisely where Tara was being held.

Even inside the great fortress, with its solid foundation, they could feel and hear the explosions, as the Hunter ships bombarded the planet-based defenses. Even in here, the ground shook, while dust and debris trickled down from overhead; Farseer wasn't holding back. Robin could only hope the Hunters' aim was good; he didn't want civilian casualties. But they'd better get in their licks while they could, as it wouldn't be long before Apokolips ships began to respond _en masse _to this sudden attack….

"Anything, Cy?" Cyborg was bringing up the rear, trying to coordinate his sensor readings with the maps they'd been given.

Cyborg shook his head. "Too much interference. But there should be a largish room right….about…here." He pointed to one section of the wall.

"Okay. People, remember the plan. We go through walls, not down corridors if we can help it. Cy?"

…..

Earth, the Kindred's hive. Alpha was reviewing the progress of several ongoing projects, and, with one portion of his multi-compartmented mind, also alert for signs of any danger, in particular, danger towards the area the humans designated _Jump City._ It was not logical, he knew, but he felt a certain responsibility towards that collection of humanity, if only because his daughter seemed to. He saw no logical reason _not_ to support her in that endeavor, and so….

Delta signaled for admittance. {{Yes, Delta?}} All the while never looking up from his holoscreens and softpads.

Delta entered his office and sat down in one of the ergonomically designed Osiran chairs. {{You forbade Maria from accompanying her friends?}}

{{Of course,}} he replied, without looking up. {{It was much too dangerous. Naturally, she wanted to go, but I persuaded her, logically, that it would actually be best for all if she did not. She saw reason.}}

Delta was smiling. {{Did she?}}

{{Well, of course. She saw the logic in my argument and agreed to remain behind. As this 'Robin' no doubt intended when he offered her that bargain of his in the first place. I must remember to compliment him for that, if he returns. A most excellent logical trap.}}

Delta shifted slightly in her seat. {{Would you mind,}} she began, {{if we went over that particular conversation again? I'm curious about something.}} Now Alpha glanced up at her…what could she be up to?

Their photographic recall, enhanced by their Link with the matrix they'd rebuilt, provided them with a record of the conversation.

_{{Absolutely not, daughter.}}_

_{{But Father Alpha….*!}} _

_{{Do not 'But Father Alpha' me. This 'Apokolips' sounds like the __last__ place in all __creation__ you should go. No. That is final.}} Then, {{Child, listen. Think. This is a __very__ dangerous mission your friends are embarking on. They might not come back, even with all the help these Hunters and this Orb can provide. And if they do not, who will care for this city you wish to protect? How will you ever find your mother?_

_{{And there is another matter. It is entirely possible that you yourself may be caught, captured. You know you are powerful. Would you really have the technology that makes you so powerful fall into the hands of this Darkseid? That would be somewhat counterproductive, do you not think?_

_{{And another matter still. If your friends do not come back, but are captured, they may need rescuing themselves. You would be able to provide valuable, indeed, vital information to whomever goes to do so. So there are many reasons for you to stay, and no good reason for you to go. The matter is settled.}}_

_Angelique was silent for a long, long moment, eyes downcast. Then she sighed. {{You are right, Father. I see that now. As always, your logic is flawless. I cannot argue with it.}} She came up and hugged him. {{I will go to my room, now.}} And she left._

{{You see, Delta? There is nothing to worry about. The child is in her room, and safe.}}

{{Is she?}} Beginning to grin.

Alpha sighed and leaned back in his chair. {{Delta. If you have something to say, say it. I am very busy here.}}

{{Was I the only one of us who noticed that our daughter did not _actually say_ she would remain behind, on this mission?}}

{{But—but she stated my logic was impeccable-}}

{{And it was, Alpha. But are children always logical? Especially human children?}}

Alpha's already large eyes got slightly larger as he considered the implications of what she'd just said. For less than a human heartbeat, he sat, momentarily stunned. Then he teleported straight into Angelique's room.

Her bed was neatly made, with Bear tucked between the pillows, on top. The room was spotless, dusted, and organized. It was also extremely empty. {{_Mariaaaaaaaaaa!_}} And he could swear he could sense, somewhere in the background of the Link, Delta laughing uproariously.

…..

Cyborg readied the alien weaponized cutting device. Like all his other in-built weapons systems, this one relied on his internal power supply, but the Hunters had upgraded that somewhat. Teleportation took a lot of power.

Because that was what the weapon was: an invisible, concentrated, laser-thin beam of spacial displacement. Like Distracts the Prey had said, it didn't matter what the substance it was used against was made of: no matter how strong, dense, or what strange chemical / atomic makeup it might have, it was still subject to being displaced in spacetime. He aimed the beam at the wall, to cut out a section they could get through.

The beam sliced through the solid stone as if it weren't even there. A huge arc of stone was suddenly cut out from the main mass, and fell inward.

To reveal a roomful of parademons.

…..

On board the Hunter fleet: "Weapons: precision fire." Farseer gave the weapons officer the coordinates Highfather Izaya had specified. He, too, didn't wish to target the civilians, but he knew that there might be no help for it. The Hunter fleet had caught the defenders completely by surprise. They'd already managed to immobilize much of the air/space support of the war planet, but he knew their advantage wouldn't last.

And even as he was thinking that, no less than three hundred Apokolips starships materialized, out of boom-tube warp, headed straight for them. Farseer glanced around the bridge. "Hunters: prepare youselves."

Battle was joined.

_To be continued…_


	13. Chapter 13: Invasion

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 13: Invasion

"Titans! _Through_ 'em! _Go!_" Robin tossed a shock-grenade into the parademon nest. He'd stressed that there was no point in holding back, and the others didn't. Cyborg's sonic cannon reverberated off the stone-like walls, and he could see the flashes from Starfire's starbolts. But they weren't making much headway; for every parademon that fell, two more took its place. They didn't seem to care about anything but getting at their attackers; there was no order to their attack, just one wave after another. The Titans were forced back, back into the corridor they'd just vacated…

…And at that exact moment, a _second_ wave of Titans, consisting of Raven, Terra, Beast Boy, and Bumblebee hit them from behind, the two groups catching the parademons in a pincer movement. Between the two groups, the parademons' attention was divided….

Meanwhile, as per previous arrangement, Aqualad was scouring the water mains that serviced the complex, on the theory that wherever Tara was being held had to have some water supply somewhere close by. But so far, he hadn't turned up anything….

Mas y Menos, also according to plan, raced up and down the hallways, deftly avoiding the numerous traps laid out for the unwary. All involved knew that the element of surprise wouldn't last; sooner or later, someone in authority would take notice of the unauthorized activity, and begin organizing the resistance….

In his control room, Virman Vunderbar sat, glancing at the monitors showing his visitors' actions. Well. This could be interesting. He cleaned and wiped his monocle, replaced it on his eye, and leaned forward. Now. Which one of this groups of upstarts should die first?

….

High overhead, the Orb settled itself in orbit around the embattled planet. The emotions emanating from the smallish world were definitely not what it preferred; was _everybody_ here _that_ unhappy? And yet, there were those who _were_ happy, but not in a way pleasing to the Orb.

It took stock of the situation. Casting about, it found the patterns of force that permeated the satellite defense system. It traced them back to the major ground based systems….

…and ate them. Or rather, ate the energy that supplied them. Suddenly, Apokolips was undefended.

….

Virman Vunderbar was a very unhappy person. These upstart worms evidently didn't know how conduct an invasion in a civilized manner.

Didn't they know they were supposed to wander down hallway after hallway, right into the electrolaser barrage he had prepared for them? Only the two speedsters had actually kept to that order of operations, and Vunderbar wanted more than just those two. But he might have to settle for what he could get.

Behind him, the door opened, and Steppenwulf entered. "Ah, captain, so good of you to join us. You are just in time to vitness my genius in action." He gestured at the monitors. "These children think that by avoiding my corridors of death, that they vill be safe. Evidently they are unavare that each corridor they break into has its own set of modular traps. I am havingk a bit of difficulty deciding vhich vuns to use….there are so many…perhaps you can help me." He gazed, pensively, at the monitors.

Steppenwulf spoke up. "Ah, yes. I'll be glad to. Tell me, Vunderbar, are you familiar with the expression, 'a stab in the back'?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Vunderbar didn't take his eyes off the monitors; his hand was moving towards one of the many levers on his control panel. Yes. The agony field would be a fun one to start off with. "Vun of my favorite pastimes, vhen I vas a lad." Suddenly, Virman Vunderbar felt a shock of sharp pain, and, looking down, saw the tip of a long-bladed knife protruding from his chest. "Vhat…."

"Good," purred the Entity, in Virman Vunderbar's ear, "And here I was actually concerned you'd be unfamiliar with the concept."

…..

Tara was being wheeled by automatic machinery into a large room, almost an arena. On the far side of the room, behind bars of solidified energy, seven apelike parademons hooted and howled in anticipation. Some were already fighting over who'd get the prize _first._

The bars vanished, and Tara's bonds were released. She fell onto the floor, trying to curl up into a ball, to protect herself as best as she could, as the parademons surged forward in naked lust…..

….And with a resounding _booom, _a wall was smashed in, just to her left. In strode a hirsute giant, at least eight feet tall, carrying a mace bigger than Tara herself. The parademons, who'd just been about to fall on their helpless victim, now fell back in fear before this newcomer. Obviously, none of them wished to engage him in combat.

The giant looked down at Tara. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?" His voice was incredibly deep and resonant.

Tara looked up, hardly daring to breath….was this rescue, or did this creature just want her first? "N—no…"

"Good. Here; put this on." He threw her a sheet. It wasn't much, but she wrapped it around herself, feeling better just not to be so much on _display_. "Now come with me. I'll take you to your friends." He turned to the parademons, cowering over by the far wall, and growled a low, almost subsonic growl, an unmistakable message inherent in it: _Do not follow me._

None of them looked like they were even tempted to.

….

Farseer was giving orders for counterattack maneuvers when the ship's sensors detected yet another boom tube opening up, this time behind them. He was about to give orders to target whatever was coming out of it, when three very odd looking objects emerged. "Admiral?" one of his officers, Lies in Wait for the Prey, signaled for attention. "This is...rather strange."

"What, the ships? How many do we now face?"

"Only three objects emerged from this most recent warp tube. But I do not think you could call them _ships_ as such. Certainly not of the kind we are facing."

"What do you mean?"

"They seem to consist of solid spherical fields of energy, with no actual material hull. I…have never seen anything quite like it…." At that exact moment, the communications officer, Hamstrings the Prey, spoke up. "Admiral? We are receiving communication…from the newcomers."

Farseer almost told her to put it on the main viewscreen, when a holographic image appeared right in front of him: a short, humanoid figure with extremely pale skin and an enormous head, hands clasped behind his back in a relaxed manner. "I am Alpha, leader of the Kindred. I do not believe I have the honor of knowing your name?"

"I am Farseer of the Path Ahead. You know of us? Who are you?"

"Somewhat. We are the descendants of the Osiran Thinkers, from the planet you call Earth. We call ourselves the Kindred. I believe our daughter has managed to involve herself in this conflict." The creature's mouth pursed itself in a manner that even Farseer, unaccustomed to humanoid expressions, could tell was clearly indicative of disapproval. "Thus, _we_ are involved." Alpha paused, and seemed to look off at something Seer couldn't see. "You seem to be somewhat outnumbered."

Farseer nodded soberly. "True. But we will fight on. Honor demands it."

"Might I offer a suggestion?"

"We will not retreat."

"I do not suggest that. Here is my plan…."

The Hunter fleet fell back and assumed a defensive formation, while the main Kindred force-ship, ridiculously small in size compared to the massive ships around it, accelerated forward, into the very jaws of the enemy fleet. Particle beams glanced off their shields; every now and then, a beam of _something _lanced out from the Kindred ship, slicing through the Apokolips' ships defenses as though they weren't even there. But the captains of the enemy warships, more afraid of their master than of death, had been well-trained in standard space warfare tactics. They moved to englobe….

Several more Apokolips vessels fell victim to Kindred superscience. They became more cautious, but still moved to surround the enemy vessel….

_Lightyears away, around a Jovian-style gas giant in a system nobody had bothered to visit in eons, there was a moon, that someone had once named Calador. Calador was three times the size of Earth's moon, and, moreover, had a magnetic field, thanks to its nickel-iron core._

_Had anyone been present to see, they would've seen some fascinating changes taking place, completely against every law of nature: bare, basaltic rock weathering down into fine soil, all in the space of minutes; flowering plants blooming from that soil, and a life-giving reducing atmosphere composed of mostly nitrogen, oxygen, and a few other gasses altogether familiar to any native of Earth, spreading over the planetoid, all in the space of just a few minutes, like a time-lapse photography. Water broke forth from below ground, forming into streams, rivers, lakes, and seas. Simple animal life came into being, based on the carbon atom, and rapidly evolved to more complex stages: herbivores, carnivores, an entire ecosystem. Within the space of a couple of hours, the formerly desolate moon became a green and verdant world, one fully capable of supporting higher life forms._

_Now the life-sustaining worldlet of Calador waited._

…

Robin was wondering which of them would fall first.

The parademons had finally either gotten orders from their higher-ups, or else had organized themselves in some fashion, because they were now attacking the two groups from both sides. Starfire was already favoring one arm, a reminder of one parademon who'd gotten a little too close. The Titans were on the defensive, and these were just parademons.

He'd detailed Haywire and Speedy to be on the lookout for incoming troops, including Darkseid's elite. It was beginning to look like they might be the only survivors of this mission. If, even, they survived.

The Titans' backs were up against a wall, literally. They had no place to retreat to; the best they could do was hold the line, and they couldn't do that forever.

All of a sudden, Robin heard the deafening thunder of gunfire, and saw parademon bodies—and parts of them, including thick, parademon blood—flying. It sounded like somebody was blasting off a barrage of .50 caliber machine gun rounds…."Get _down,_ everybody!" Angelique had morphed her arms into a pair of belt-fed, air-cooled fully-automatic antitank guns, reloading automatically via nanotechnology from scrap, mowing down parademon ranks by the hundreds.

Before the smoke had had a chance to clear, Robin marched over to her. She was just then shifting back to her "human" mode. "I thought I told you to stay behind, Angelique," he began, severely.

"Well, _actually_, Mr. Robin, what you _actually_ _said_ was, that if I got Father Alpha's permission, you'd have no problem with me coming along. Right?"

"And did you?" Hands on his hips.

"Weeellllllll…..I kinda didn't get his _permission,_ you understand. So….I guess that means, you have a problem with me coming along? But," and here she raised a finger to silence his reply, "you never _actually said_ _not to come_. Just that you'd have a _problem_ with it. And uh," and here she lowered her eyes, shifted uncomfortably, shuffling her feet, grinning slyly, "like you've always said: problems are made to be overcome. Right?"

Robin stared at her for a moment. Then he surveyed the other Titans. Starfire was no longer favoring her arm, due to her quick healing factor, but Terra and Beast Boy both had bruises big enough to qualify for individual zip codes. Cyborg's internal repair systems would be working overtime for a while now. And the others…. Just a little longer, and very possibly, none of them would've survived….he turned back to Angelique. "You know, I really believe you have a bright future as a lawyer."

…..

The Apokolips ships had succeeded in completely englobing the strange craft that had invaded their vicinity. No matter how powerful a shield they had, given enough firepower, it would crumble. All two hundred seventy-eight of the remaining ships wanted in on the kill, so they encircled their prey, lashing out, probing the enemy's defenses. But it was odd; the enemy vessel was only making what seemed like a half-hearted attempt at defending itself, hardly worthy of its notable weapons, which were unlike anything the Apokolips forces had ever seen, and quite formidable. But the intruder seemed more interested in just sitting there than blasting its opponents….

They were almost in position.

On board the Kindred craft, Alpha surveyed the layers of hostile ships surrounding him analytically. Let them come. He knew the limits of the force-field that served as their hull; he'd designed it himself.

For about the thousandth time, he really wished Maria hadn't disobeyed him like she did. He knew she was a child, and children sometimes make irrational decisions, but, due to her relationship with the Kindred, _her_ involvement meant _their_ involvement, as well. And he knew the biggest obstacle to victory here was this entity known as _Darkseid_, who, by all accounts, was immensely powerful. Alpha began to mentally draw up plans for Darkseid's defeat.

It was all just such a _nuisance._

And all the while, the englobing ships outside pressed closer and closer; the force-field "hull" of the ship beginning to show signs of strain from the close-range disruptor fire….

…

"But where are you taking me?" Tara asked of the giant who'd rescued her. "And, and who are you?"

"You don't know me," answered her benefactor, "but for all intents and purposes, in this form, you may as well call me Kalibak. I have some knowledge of this place, and its defenses—if you want to call them that." The two were currently slogging through an underground tunnel partially filled with what Tara fervently hoped was water, but what her nose told her was probably not. It was still better than….being where she had been. "There is a water main up ahead. One of your friends is there; that's where we'll part company." The creature's guttural growl of a voice didn't seem to match the sophistication of his words, but Tara barely noticed. Just one more aspect of the nightmare she was trapped in. "Come on." She stumbled, the now-soaked sheet she was wrapped in catching her legs. He noticed. "Here." And he picked her up, as if she weighed nothing, and held her gently in the crook of his arm, while he trudged down the tunnel.

_Now I know how Fay Wray felt,_ thought Tara. "What's wrong with my powers? Why won't they work?"

"Granny Goodness put a neuroblock on you. Standard procedure. Don't worry; it'll come off easily. Had you gone further with the 'processing,' she'd have removed it herself, to let you start learning to use those powers of yours—in the service of Darkseid, of course. But first, you were to be rendered defenseless, not only physically but emotionally and psychologically. That was the purpose of the parademons: you were to be broken, basically."

She put her hand on the giant's chest. "I—I can't thank you enough for saving me…"

What looked like Kalibak grunted. "Then do me a favor. When you see Raven, tell her help's on the way. Okay?"

"Raven? She's here?"

"They all are. They—the Titans, your teammates, and others— have mounted a rather undersupplied invasion slash rescue attempt. But it's not as hopeless as it looks. Reinforcements are on the way. Anyway, here we are." He smashed through another iron grating, into a wider tunnel beyond. "Hold on a moment…" And the creature pressed his two fingers to the right side of his head….{{**Aqualad. Front and center.**}}

{{Who…?}}

{{**Never mind who. Just get your amphibious butt over here. I've got Tara.**}} Aqualad flashed to the spot he saw in his mind…..

And saw one of their major enemies, Kalibak, Darkseid's own son, holding a sheet-wrapped and still terrified Tara. "Tara!"

"She's fine. Here." And the monstrous Kalibak handed her over to the Atlantean teen. "See that she gets to safety. And remember: help is on the way." And with that, he simply disappeared from mortal eyes.

…..

Meanwhile, even with Angelique's unexpected help, the Titans still had their hands full. The parademons just didn't seem to know when to quit.

They'd battled their way into the pyramid-shaped structure, keeping to their plan: go through walls, not down corridors. Even so, it seemed like every corridor was full of parademons. They finally reached an open area that seemed, at least for the moment, to be parademon-free. Good; it gave them a chance to catch their breath.

Suddenly, Angelique stiffened. "Oh, no…."

"What?" asked Robin.

"Father Alpha. They're here! Oh, I'm in troubuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllll….."

**{{Of course you are, daughter. Did you seriously think you would not be?}}** Alpha's voice sounded through Robin's, and the others' heads simultaneously. Somehow, the voice managed to conjure up, in their minds, an image of Alpha's normal disapproving scowl. Robin wondered how he managed that. **{{But that is a matter for a later discussion. At this moment, we are engaged in a war activity.}}**

High overhead, Farseer chafed as he watched the englobement of the Kindred ship. It was not his nature to hold back, but the one called Alpha had made a telling, logical point: the enemy simply outnumbered the Hunters. That had to be remedied. But the _manner_ of its remedy struck him as a little extreme….

The Apokolips ships continued to encircle the Kindred force-field ship. The inverse-square law meant their beam weapons had more power at close range, so they steadily closed the distance between them and the intruder, eagerly trying to crack open the force shield….

On board the Kindred ship, Alpha watched the readouts impassively as the attackers' beam weapons tore at the force shield, becoming stronger as they got closer. His was a somewhat drastic scheme, but a logical one. He mentally calculated that enough of the enemy vessels were close enough now….

By his side, Theta stared, wide-eyed, at the attacking ships, clearly visible through the transparent force shield/hull. He could tell she was afraid; she was trembling slightly. His hand found hers, his fingers closing around hers gently. **{{Courage, Theta. It will happen too fast to hurt.}}**

And the Kindred ship blew up like a nova.

…

On the bridge of the Hunter flagship, Farseer watched the colossal explosion expand on the viewscreens. It was as if a star itself had exploded. Whatever power source the Kindred ship had used was _beyond_ merely _powerful._ "By. The. One. Tactical?"

Reads the Spoor glanced at his instruments. "That explosion took out one hundred eighty of the enemy ships, sir. The rest seem…disoriented."

"Then _now_ we attack. Hunters, followers of the One! Into battle!" And the Hunter fleet surged forward.

Space came alive with cross-cutting beam weapons and artillery. The Hunter ships dodged and swooped in perfect coordination with one another: one, attacking from the front while the other waited for its opportunity. While the enemy concentrated on one Hunter ship, the other attacked, its hypergraviton disruptor beams slicing into the guts of the enemy ship, even as their antimatter torpedoes zeroed in on the enemy vessels….

But it was still less than an even contest; several more Hunter ships fell to Apokolips firepower. Farseer wondered if they would be next, but if so, it would be in the service of honor…..

….And just as he thought that, another boom tube opened behind them, this time disgorging over seven hundred Hunter warships.

His communication screen came alive. _"Farseer? Surely you left us __some__ of the prey. That would only be polite."_ It was Administers the Killing Stroke, an old colleague of his from the Academy.

Farseer smiled in the Hunter way. "We did the best we could. Hope you don't mind a _few_ leftovers." And the tide of battle turned in the Hunters' favor.

…

"Oooooooooh…."murmured Angelique. Robin looked at her. They'd managed, with her help, to reach another empty space underneath the pyramid, and were resting, gathering their strength. Angelique was looking off into space, an expression of rapture on her face, her hands clasped in front of her. "What?" he asked.

"There were too many Apokolips ships. So Father Alpha blew theirs up. He took out a great many of them."

All of a sudden, Robin felt cold. "Uh, Angelique? Alpha sacrificed himself?" _First casualties_.

"Oh, yes. I wish I'd seen that! It must've been so pretty!" Clearly the girl was in some kind of shock.

"Angelique….what your Father Alpha did was...a very brave thing. You have to remember that."

She looked at him, puzzled. "Mr. Robin, I don't understand. Of course it was a brave thing, but…..you're talking like he's dead."

"Isn't he?"

**{{Of course not,****}}** Alpha's mental voice resounded in all their minds. **{{There would be no logic in killing ourselves when we did not have to. Our minds, our essences, are alive within the matrix. As soon as we grow new bodies for our minds, we will once again walk amongst you.}}**

Another voice broke in, this one female: **{{And ****you****, young lady, are still in a great deal of trouble. We will need to have a long, **_**long**_** talk, once we reconstitute ourselves.}}**

Angelique hung her head. "Yes, Mother Theta. I guess I'm grounded for life, huh?"

**{{I am not sure there is a calendar extant that goes far enough to indicate a time when you might be released. But we will discuss the matter.}}**

…..

The Hunter fleet had made short work of the remaining Apokolips vessels. Farseer was trying to get in touch with Robin, but his communicator yielded only static. But he knew about where they had to be.

The bombardment that had grounded Apokolips' air/space support was as complete as it could be. More would only produce civilian casualties, and that was, preferably, to be avoided.

**{{My children. It is time.}}** They all heard the voice of the One in their heads. **{{I go before you.}}** And their viewscreens showed the One gathering into a spheroid in front of the fleet. It began to descend upon the vast city of Armaghetto.

On board the ships of the Hunter fleet, immense bay doors opened, releasing troop transport shuttles.

The invasion of Apokolips had begun in earnest.

_To be continued…._


	14. Chapter 14: Rescue Operations

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 14: Rescue Operations

_There was still no one around to see, but the now green, verdant moon of Calador was behaving even more oddly than before. For one thing, it had completely stopped in its revolution about its primary gas supergiant. It did not begin to fall towards the planet, as gravity would normally insist, but instead paused momentarily, almost as if orienting itself; then, in complete defiance of just about every known law of physics, as well as a few human scientists weren't even aware of yet, suddenly shot off into space, angling away from its homestar, accelerating at an enormous factor as it passed the outer limit of its former solar system's planetary orbits. Before long, it had reached and exceeded the velocity of light, and was moving at a speed Earth scientists wouldn't even have been able to assign a meaningful number to. All the while, homing in on a small, reddish-orange blip far, far away. Racing through the stygian blackness of space._

_To the rescue._

…..

Outside the pyramid shaped structure, Speedy and Haywire kept their vigil. Both chafed at the inaction, but both knew the importance of their assigned task. It was a certainty that troops would be arriving to answer the invasion of the fortress; Robin would need to know when, from where, and how many…..

Suddenly, the ground shook. Hank looked over the low wall shielding them and saw a sight that chilled his blood: thousands upon thousands of parademons, marching in formation, headed right for the fortress. Not good. He raised his communicator, to let Robin know…..

….and one of the lead parademons spotted him, grunted something to its fellows, and pointed with its spear. The entire column changed course and came straight for them. _Okay,_ thought Hank, _matters just got worse._ He ducked back down beside Speedy, just as a blaster bolt ricocheted off the escarpment hiding them. "Robin! Company's coming! _Lots _of it!" He didn't add they obviously intended to make a stopover before they got to the fortress. Speedy was readying an arrow with a bulbous tip; Hank didn't have a clue as to what kind it was.

"_*crackle* -an you delay*crackle static hissssssss-*"_

With what? Wondered Hank. The oncoming troops didn't seem to be carrying that much of anything electronic that he could jam, mostly just spears, knives, and swords…..what he wouldn't give for a nice, big, explo—*

Wait a minute. It was a long shot, something he remembered from college physics, and might kill them both, but…. "Speedy! Shoot that arrow high over them!"

"You crazy? This is only a smoke arrow!"

"Doesn't matter! Just _do it!"_ They were behind a fragment of a wall made of something Highfather Izaya had called "condensite," an ultra dense, artificial substance. Hank hoped it was dense enough. If not, well, they'd never know. "Shoot it! Now!"

Speedy's arrow arced high over the oncoming parademons. And Haywire concentrated, concentrated on the arrow, on the atoms in the arrow's head, attempting something he'd never tried before…..

….and every single electron in the arrowhead fell into and fused with its proton counterpart in the nucleus of each atom…."Get _down!_ Cover your ears and keep your mouth open!" And they ducked for cover behind the condensite just as the arrowhead went nuclear.

After the reverberations had quieted somewhat, and the ground quit shaking quite so much, they peeked out from behind the condensite cover. For as far as their eyes could see, nothing moved. Except for a few what looked like greasy stains and some twisted, blackened pieces of metal, there was no sign of the division of parademons they'd seen. A few odd looking shadows seemed to've been burned into the walls of the nearby buildings, what was left of them…..

Speedy turned to Haywire. "If my kids look funny, I am so suing you."

…

Meanwhile, the Titans were regrouping, deciding on which way to go next. Mas y Menos had rejoined them, reporting no luck. They'd come to a chamber that branched off into three different shafts. Robin was checking his map….this wasn't on it….

….and a hatch they hadn't even seen shot open, causing them to jump. Aqualad emerged, hauling Tara, still wrapped in her sheet, out from the open manhole. "Gar! You came!" She ran to him, flinging her arms around him and sobbing uncontrollably. Her sheet had slid down and come undone somewhat, leaving her basically topless; it looked dangerously close to falling off altogether. Beast Boy looked at the others, his hands flapping and floundering over Tara's bare back; _help!_ Terra's face was tomato-red; her hands clenching and unclenching as though she were practicing strangling somebody….

But Robin had come prepared for that, too. He had reasoned that whoever had kidnapped Tara would've neutralized her powers, so…."Devil Cat?"

Kitten pressed the hypo against the girl's bare upper arm, and Tara suddenly sagged in Beast Boy's grip. "There. She oughtta be out for a while. Cy?" Cyborg picked her up, wrapping the sheet more securely around the unconscious girl. "Okay, people. We've secured our objective. This is where we split up. Now. Cyborg, you and Devil Cat get Tara to any one of the extractions points…."

"I'll go, too!" exclaimed Angelique.

"_No._ Angelique, this is important. If you're gonna be a Titan, you've _got_ to learn to follow orders. I need you to go with Aqualad, Bumblebee, and Mas y Menos. You four meet up with Speedy and Haywire outside." She looked as though she was about to object. "Angelique. This is important, for more reasons than one. This'll show you _can_ follow orders. Alright?"

She looked downcast. "O_kay_…."

"Good." He went on to detail the groups.

Nobody said anything, but all the older Titans understood. If it looked like they'd be overwhelmed, whoever was with Tara had to be able and willing to kill her rather than let her fall into Darkseid's hands. For that matter, the same was true of Terra. "Alright. Let's _go._"

…..

Outside, the Orb had positioned itself onto one of the pyramid-shaped structures, covering it completely. Its future self had told its current self that what it was doing was something that needed doing, and that only it could do, even if it didn't make a whole lot of sense to the present-day version of the Orb.

So it covered the entire structure, absorbing the energy within, and extended a portion of itself high into the atmosphere, sending out a signal. A _beacon_.

_To be continued…_


	15. Chapter 15: us a Little Surprise

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 15: Duels. Plus a Little Surprise

_I don't own the Teen Titans—wish I did—but this might be considered a bit of a crossover….see what you think._

_As always, please read and review!_

On the ground, the Hunters closed with the parademons. Parademons were tough, and very resistant to pain, and there were a lot of them. But while the parademons could fly, with their armor, the Hunters could _leap,_ propelled by their powerful hind legs, hind legs that were equipped with powerful claws quite capable of disemboweling most prey. The Hunters were more than happy to include parademons into that category. No matter how pain-resistant something is, it can't fight effectively with most of its insides on the outside. And the Hunters hunted in _packs,_ with one drawing in a parademon, another disabling it, while the first administered the killing stroke to the downed parademon. This pattern was repeated over and over, with the Hunters leaping up over their prey, and attacking from more than one direction. The parademons, while used to strafing their ground-based victims, were not used to opponents that used such aggressive tactics, and it wasn't long before the battlefield was littered with parademon bodies, some slashed open from neck to groin, others exhibiting the charbroiled, exploded-from-within look of a Hunter powerlance. The Hunters steadily advanced. Many fell. That did not stop them. They followed the One, and his teachings of Honor. Merely to live was not to be victorious; therefore, mere death was not defeat.

"_*..—obin: armored divisions approaching from the southwest."_

"How many?"

"_I count a couple hundred. Some kinda tanks pimped out to look like dragons. Flamethrowers."_

"Okay. We're warned." He looked at the rest of them. "Okay. Starfire, you, Raven, and I will take this corridor. Beast Boy, you and Terra take the third. Remember, just go a little way, then cut into another wall. Keep doing that until you get outside; Kitten's boom-tubes can't pick us up in here." Beast Boy, he knew would fight to the literal death for Terra, and….

….he knew Terra knew what to do, if it should come down to it. That was why she had a mini-nuke strapped to her back.

"_Uh, Mr. Robin?"_ Angelique's voice sounded over his communicator. Robin guessed the Orb was boosting their transmissions, but worried that that also made eavesdropping easier. _"Something I sorta kinda forgot to mention earlier…."_

"Oh?" Robin suddenly felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach…

"_Weeellll, y'see, it's like this: I'm, uh, not __exactly__ the only one who stowed away on board the ship…"_

_Now__ what?_ Thought Robin.

…..

Alone in his control room, Darkseid pondered. His floating viewscreens were alive around him, showing the invasion, the Titans in the act of attempting to rescue their comrade, the alien invasion, everything. It was really of small concern. No matter how much help they had, no matter what powers were at their disposal, their efforts were doomed from the start. It would be less than child's play to set off any of the numerous traps, and capture many, if not all, of the interlopers. More fodder for his army, once he turned _them._

And he _had_ an army. Not just a few lackeys, a few hirelings, but a literal army. His troops were numberless, and each and every one would fight to the death for their master.

And, of course, should he decide to take a hand directly, which it was looking like he would, they were most definitely doomed. None of them had anything like the power needed to oppose _him._

Not for the first time, he wondered just who'd cloned the girl in the first place. It hadn't been him, and he really didn't think Highfather Izaya would have sanctioned such a thing. That really didn't leave that many civilizations with that level of technological sophistication, at least, that he knew about, and he knew about a great many. He hadn't been able to track down the other clones, and _that_ had bothered him a _lot _more than this pitiful, doomed-to-failure rescue attempt. Well. He'd just have to keep on searching. It wasn't as if he didn't have the time.

He activated his communicator. He saw no reason to involve himself personally in this matter, not just yet. "Granny? I'm in need of your Female Furies. We seem to have an insect problem." No response. "Granny? Can you hear me?" All of a sudden, his viewscreens went blank, showing only static. For some reason, some latent sense caused him to look around the empty room. Why did he get the distinct impression that he was no longer alone? There was nobody there, just a brief spike in an electrical power line, a flicker of a light here and there…. For some reason, the phrase, _ghost in the machine_ flashed through his mind…

His communicator crackled. _"You're a very bad man."_ It sounded like a little girl's voice.

And with that, every electronic device in the room blew up in his face.

….

Kanto was a happy assassin today. An alien invasion was just the sort of thing he needed to alleviate the boredom he'd been feeling lately.

He was on his way to Vunderbar's fortress. No doubt that fool Vunderbar was dawdling over which of his many deathtraps to use on the intruders. That was the problem with those histrionic types: they just didn't know how to prioritize.

He'd dressed well, for the occasion. Some had accused him, in the past, of being somewhat of a dilettante (albeit never to his face), but his philosophy was that one should always look one's best, no matter what. After all, anybody could kill someone while wearing a potato sack. That required no finesse. But the true _artist_ always attended to the little details.

All he had to do, to quell this invasion (and, incidentally, curry favor with Great Darkseid), was get to and activate the proper switches. He knew the right ones that would turn basically every stone in a three-kilometer radius into a trap. Even if the invaders managed to get to the fortress, they'd still be within the kill zone. Simple attrition would take care of the rest.

But he hoped there'd be one or two of the best left, for him to play with. He'd been feeling the need for some action, lately, and there really hadn't been anything worthy of his formidable talents.

He was almost to the base of the fortress, just past one of the few firepits of Apokolips that was bordered by a low wall (some found it inspiring to hurl victims into the flames), when something large and mottled-green dropped lightly down from an overhead ledge. "You seem entirely too eager to enter this building," said the alien, shifting its powerlance into a combat position, "and so you shall not."

Kanto smiled, drawing his knives with practiced ease. Well. Some action. At last.

…..

Aqualad, Bumblebee, and Angelique were just about to exit the last cut-through corridor into what looked like open ground when Mas y Menos came racing back in. _"Not that way!"_ They gasped, in Spanish, _"Peligro!"_

_Danger_? Thought Aqualad. _What danger?_ Then he saw the divisions of armored dragon tanks heading their way. _Oh. __That__ danger._

….

Cyborg was carrying Tara, with Devil Cat scouting out the way, when the unexpected blaster bolt took him completely by surprise. Down he went, his circuits fizzing as his self-repair systems fought to get him back online.

Kitten looked towards the source of the bolt. "Well, well," said Lashina, readying one of her flexible steel straps, "This one looks like she'd make a good addition to our ranks. Pity we have to kill her."

"Speak for yourself," cackled Mad Harriet, "_I'm_ gonna enjoy this." Bernadeth and Stompa looked on impassively.

_Great,_ thought Kitten. _Figures I'd get the bitches._

…_.._

Aqualad, Bumblebee, Mas y Menos, and Angelique gazed in something like awe at the oncoming tanks. With a sinking sensation, they realized there were just too many. The tanks moved forward relentlessly, occasionally belching flame, but ever zeroing in on the fortress. "Okay, here's the plan," began Aqualad, "M & M, you take the ones on the left, Bee, you shrink down and try to get inside 'em. They may look like dragons, but they're not. They gotta have drivers. Take the drivers out of action, and the tank's just so much scrap metal…." He went on.

And something clicked in Angelque's mind. Although chronologically a child, she possessed a boosted intelligence level beyond anything any of the others could imagine. She realized they were underestimating her, and her abilities, precisely _because_ they saw her as a child, and instinctively sought to protect her. She guessed she could understand that, sort of.

But something about the words, "scrap metal"…

"Let me try something, Mr. Aqualad." And before he could object, she cartwheeled out into the open, right into the middle of the tank squadron.

"AngeliQUE! _GET BACK HERE_!"

"In a minute!" She was right in the middle of the battalion. Six of the monstrous battletanks turned to face her….

…and she suddenly sprouted six tentacle-like arms, each of them connecting with the tanks, which shuddered and ground to a halt…

_Within the tanks, some drastic changes were taking place. One nanobot made two, which made four, which made sixteen, which made two hundred fifty-six….a geometric progression….._

The blackened metal of the tanks' hulls turned a dirty yellow. Yellow mixed with purple….

And Angelique called out the names of some childhood heroes of hers, from when she watched TV with her mom. "Long Haul! Mixmaster! Skyhook! Scrapper! Bonecrusher! Scavenger!

"Constructicons! _Live!"_

Metal folded and refolded, arms and legs emerging, red-eye-lensed heads appearing from torsos, as the mechanical giants took form….

Long Haul looked around the broken, blackened field. "Well, well. Another battlefield. Why am I not surprised."

Bonecrusher unlimbered his blaster. "Who cares? Just tell me who we're supposed to shoot."

Scrapper took stock of the situation, at the oncoming tanks. He pointed. "Them." And the Constructicons charged into battle….

_If you think there isn't any more, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to talk to you about…_


	16. Chapter 16: Return

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 16: Return.

Kitten stood, in a battle stance, relaxed, but ready. "Okay. Who wants it first?" Already mentally reviewing what she knew about her adversaries.

"Me, me, me!" screamed Harriet, charging forward. She leapt, even as Kitten did, both of them with claws extended….

….only Kitten leaped _over_ Harriet, catching her with her claws just enough to zero in with her poison-stingered tail, catching Mad Harriet right in the neck.

Harriet went down, rolling, the toxin already immobilizing her. Kitten didn't waste any time, but leaped again, this time to dodge Lashina's whip. "That's my _friend,_ bitch!" snarled the black-clad Fury.

"Then you've got-_oof!—_exceptionally poor taste." The weighted lash bit into the stone right next to her, exploding bits of stone into her face. Behind Lashina, Stompa and Bernadeth readied themselves…

Kitten vaulted again, bouncing from one wall to another, fully aware she couldn't keep this up forever, and also aware she had to keep their attention off of Cyborg and Tara, if she could….

_That which was Omega was nearly out of energy. He'd tried, endlessly, to find the right universe, on his own, entering some, but finding himself unable to remain. But each move he made used up some of that which made him an individual, here in this indescribable place where individuality could not exist. Then the beacon came. He began following it, following it….but he was nearly exhausted._

_He could __see__ the universe he was intended for, sort of, as his friends and his love were engaged in serious battle with serious foes. He tried to fight his way to them, but he just didn't have enough __individuality__ anymore…. He felt the last of himself fading away._

_Was this what humans call Hell, he wondered, to be able to see your world, your love, but be forever unable to return to her?_

_And then he felt something "behind" him, even though such concepts had no real meaning here in the Infinite, something—or someone—there in the Infinite, who gave him energy, impetus, or simply what could best be described as a __push__. And an image came into his mind: that of a startlingly beautiful blonde-haired woman with bright blue eyes and a warm smile. A woman who looked familiar…. "Go," she said, the words forming in his mind, "My daughter needs you."_

Lashina was drawing back for another whip attack when something smashed through the far wall and crashed into her faster than she could even see, let alone react. That same something slammed into her face, sending her into and through the opposite wall.

Stompa leaped forward to attack. That was a mistake. The figure that had crashed through the wall simply grabbed her, spun around, and redirected her, slamming her, with bone-shattering force, into Bernadeth. Both crashed into an unmoving heap, against the far wall, blood pooling beneath them. _No__body threatens the one I love._

Kitten looked up at the figure that had crashed through the wall, the figure that was holding out his hand to her. The familiar black and silver uniform, alabaster-white face and hair…

"_Omega!" _She ran to him, and he caught her in fierce embrace. "Took you long enou-*" And his mouth closed over hers in a heated kiss. "MmmMMPH!"

After a long, long moment, they broke apart, with Kitten gasping. Wow. This… was, like,…a _serious_ upgrade. Had he learned _this_ in the Infinite? But of course, she couldn't let _him_ know that, oh no, not yet. After all _this_ time, she was _definitely_ gonna make the boy work for it. Oh, yes. "As I was about to say, it took you long enough." Unconsciously, her tail curled around his hips appreciatively.

He smiled, holding her as tightly as he dared. "Tell you about it later."

….

Kanto was finally angry. The impudent lizard had actually managed to slash his best blouse with that silly spear of his. "I would know the name of the one I'm about to kill," he said, conversationally. _Never let them make you lose your temper. That is the surest way to lose any fight._

"Then you've no need to know mine," responded the insolent lizard, with what Kanto could swear was a grin. Well, at least, the creature knew how to trade banter during battle. Kanto figured he'd at least have some entertaining stories to tell later.

The lizard feinted, slashed, and then, spinning around, attacked with its tail, a powerful blow it that would have swept Kanto's feet out from under him, and sent him reeling, head over heels, had it landed. It took all of Kanto's superhuman skill and speed to avoid the blow. The creature was no stranger to infighting, particularly with edged weapons, he'd give it that much. And it was _fast._ Kanto had fought such duels before, but usually with humans, or human-equivalent; whatever these things were, their reaction time was _incredible_. In spite of their obvious size and mass, they didn't just move; they _flickered. _ And they didn't _fight _quite like a human. He'd already exhausted his supply of throwing daggers; his opponent had deftly deflected them with its spear. He knew it wasn't proper combat etiquette, but he found himself wishing for a blaster….

But no matter. He still had his two major knives, and it was really only a question of time, and skill, both of which he had in abundance. He feinted, dodged, and slashed, succeeding in producing a very shallow cut on the creature's arm. Not as deep as he'd like; the alien's scales acted as a kind of natural armor. He wished he'd thought to bring his poisoned daggers, but one can't think of _everything_ while standing on one foot….

…And the alien's spear opened up a longish cut on his left arm. Okay, now, this was just too much. Enough was enough. Time to cheat, just a little.

"But perhaps I will accommodate you," the alien said. "After all," _feint, slash, _"I see no reason to be uncivilized about these matters." _Slash, stab, deflect._ "I was once known as One Who Walks Along the Trail," said his adversary, quite calmly, as though they'd just met for lunch somewhere. _Another spinning tail blow, which succeeded in sweeping Kanto's feet out from under him this time; were it not for his own superhuman speed, he would have been still on the ground, helpless, when his opponent turned. As it was, he rolled and rebounded to his feet just in time to avoid its spear. _ "An undistinguished name, perhaps, but a perfectly proper one. But after a certain event in my life, I changed my name." _Deflect, slash, slash, feint, stab._ "I am now known as One Who Listens to Talks to God. He is very wise, you know."

"Really." Kanto feigned a yawn, all the while forcing his opponent back, ever back, towards the low wall of the firepit. Just a little further….

"Yes. You could learn a lot from him. I did. In fact, from his teachings, I believe I have divined the main difference between your kind and mine."

"Have you now." And suddenly, in mid-sentence, Kanto lunged inward, pirouetting past the lizard's defenses, and drove one of his knives deep into the alien's torso. Not an immediately killing blow, but….

…And the damnable lizard _locked his spear behind Kanto's back, and, using his greater mass, dragged them both over the low wall of the firepit…_

Into the consuming fires below.

"What are you doing?" shouted Kanto.

"You see, my kind live and die for a reason," Listens continued, as if nothing had happened. "But you can only die." And Listens laughed.

Kanto screamed.

….

Darkseid had come to a decision. It was time to get involved. Even if these upstart worms had no chance of defeating his troops, there was still the matter of the invasion to deal with. He couldn't let that go unchallenged. It would send…inappropriate signals to conquered worlds.

He didn't know how the Earthlings had managed to take out his communications, but it really didn't matter. Once he dealt with them, all could be rebuilt. But he made a mental note to take Granny Goodness to task, for allowing the girl to escape so easily. Hadn't she taken _any_ precautions against the possibility of rescue?

Darkseid was aware that sometimes, the warriors under him were subject to a certain amount of complacency. That, of course, would have to be addressed, once things were stabilized again. A few days of agony would serve to remind them not to underestimate even the obviously underestimateable.

_To be continued…._


	17. Chapter 17: An Offer

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground, chapter 17: An Offer

_Maybe this is a little more of a crossover, but, well, deal with it. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it! _

_I don't own the Teen Titans or the Transformers. But I do still have a few of the action figures lying about somewhere. Does that count?_

Outside: Angelique had been one busy little girl. "Dinobots! _Live! _Predacons! _Live_! Aerobots! _Live!_ Terrorcons! _Live!"_

"Well, Prime," said Megatron, "It seems we've a common enemy, for a change. Truce 'till this is over?"

"But _only _till it's over," said Prime, readying his laser rifle.

"My sentiments, precisely," muttered Megatron, already powering up his fusion cannon….

"Autobots! Transform and attack!"

"Decepticons! Into battle!"

…

"Alright," said Robin, "Starfire, Raven, we should be near the exit. Everybody remember: once you're outside, signal for pickup. Don't try for the ship unless it's a last resort." He looked around. "Star? Where's Raven?"

Starfire looked behind her quizzically. "She was right behind me. I do not know where she could have gone."

Robin pulled out his T-cell. "Raven? Come in. Where are you?"

"_(crackle) - on. I'll join you as soon as I can."_

"But where _are_ you?"

"_Never mind. Just go."_ And the call ended.

With a sinking feeling, Robin had a hunch he knew where she was going.

…

Ever since Robin had announced his intentions to invade Apokolips, Raven had known it would come down to this. Even if only one person had gone, the Lord of Apokolips would still not stand idly by and watch his plans be disrupted. He would take a hand, directly, sooner or later.

And she was the only one of them who had even the slightest chance of slowing Darkseid down. It would cost her her life, of course, but if it would buy her friends the time they'd need to get away, it would be worth it. Raven had never planned on dying of old age anyway. She just wished she could've said goodbye to Gar and Hank first.

She turned a corner, and there he was, a giant seemingly made of stone, and about as compassionate. Darkseid inclined his head in her direction, his arms folded behind his back. "Raven."

"You know me?"

"We've never met, but, yes, I know all about you. Trigon's own daughter. Sometimes," he said, tilting his head ever so slightly, "sometimes I daresay that must be rather hard on you. I can't imagine you as a happy person."

Raven was silent, bracing herself. The dark god knew her better than she'd thought he would. "It matters not. If you know me so well, you know why I'm here."

"Of course. You've come to sacrifice yourself, to buy your friends time to escape. That much is obvious." He paused, thinking. "But, Raven….it need not be this way."

She was taken aback. "What do you mean?" Suspiciously.

He extended a massive hand towards her. "Join me. You are Trigon's own flesh and blood; the daughter of a king of demons, Master of millions of worlds. As such, you are far more powerful than even you realize. Ally yourself with me. I could teach you ways to use your powers to increase your already formidable might far beyond anything you can even imagine. You would have a position second only to my own, here on Apokolips. You could rule the cosmos by my side.

"And I know about Malchior. I know how he used you, abused you. If you join forces with me, I would see to it that you would be in a position to exact such an exquisite revenge upon him. He could die a hundred thousand deaths, a million or more, in agony literally inconceivable, only to be revived each time, to begin the cycle anew, all the while knowing that there was no relief for him, nor would there be, ever. He would be your plaything, to do with as you please. If only you'll willingly join me.

"I would even allow your friends to escape." He shrugged. "I've no real _need_ of them. If you'll join forces with me, your powers combined with my own would be unbeatable anyway. We could bring order, peace and, yes, even justice to the cosmos. What? Did you not think I even knew of the word? Oh, yes. I know. Admittedly, my version might be a bit different from what you were taught, but think: together, we _could_ make sure that what happened to you would never have to happen to another young girl, ever.

"No other girl would ever be so abused by a smooth-talking charlatan. No other girl would ever have to go through that kind of pain. And," he continued, pointedly, "they would all have you to thank for it. You would be their angel, their goddess, their mighty protector. They would look up to you, need you, love you, even, as no one else ever has before. I know what it is to be a god, to receive the worship, the adulation, of others. You could know, too.

"What say you?" His hand was still extended.

Raven was visibly trembling. She hadn't expected this at all. She'd been prepared to fight Darkseid (and of course, lose), but this…..

…Everything she'd ever wanted, and then some…..it could all be hers….and her friends would be safe. From Apokolips's throne room, she could see to it that they and her world would never again be menaced, not just from Apokolips, but any other world, no matter where in time or space. Apokolips's own army would defend Earth, and Darkseid himself, now an ally, would see to its safety…..

…..Except…..this was Darkseid….

….who did not share power…

Insight came to her slowly, as if she were afraid to let it. "You…you're…joking…"

Darkseid's hand withdrew. Although his wasn't a face that could show much emotion, she could swear she saw something like a glimmer of cruel amusement deep within his red-litten eyes. "I was beginning to wonder," he mused, "at what point you'd finally arrive at that realization."

…..

The Titans reconvened outside. Robin was relieved to see Omega; they'd need some big guns for what came next. "Okay, people. Raven's missing. I think she's gone to confront Darkseid, to buy us time to get away." He paused. "Orb? Can you pinpoint her?"

{{**No, Friend Robin. She is deliberately blocking me.**}}

"Damn. I was afraid of that." He reeled for a moment. The battle had taken a lot out of him, but it wasn't over with yet. Not until Raven was safe. He'd die before he'd leave any of his people behind, no matter what the reason. "Okay. Here's what we do: Cyborg, you, Beast Boy, Terra, Aqualad, Devil Cat, Speedy, Mas y Menos…get Tara to the extraction point. Once you're on board the Hunter fleet, signal us. Starfire, you, me, and Omega, we're going back in. Surgical strike. Maybe we can find her before it's too late…."

"You're not leaving me out," spoke up Hank. "If Raven's involved, I'm there. Give all the orders you want; I'm still coming with you."

Robin sighed. "Okay, then. Now. Angelique?" She perked up. "I need you to make sure the others get to safety. You say Missy's here? Get in touch with her and make sure she's not left behind. Once the rest of us find Raven, we'll have to move as quickly as we can." He looked off to the distance. To the south, the invading Hunter forces were making slow but sure headway towards the fortress; to the north, the Apokolips' tactical armor seemed to have their hands full with some sort of mechanical giants. Robin figured there was no time for an explanation for that right now. Right now, Raven was more important. "I'll take lead; Omega, you scout ahead, Star, you're with-*" And at that exact moment, he heard the hiss of a hypospray, reeled, and saw Starfire holding the hypo. "You…you….St-Star…"

"You are exhausted, beloved." And he knew no more.

Starfire caught him and handed him to Kitten. "See to it that he gets to the safety please. The rest of you," she gestured back towards the pyramid, "Come with me." And all of them, with the exception of Angelique and Kitten, charged back into the very fortress they'd just come from.

With Omega in the lead, they had no need to follow their own chain of destruction. He made his own, smashing through wall after wall, always zeroing in on the main throne room…

Raven was just about out of power. She'd thrown everything she could at the seemingly invincible Darkseid, and he'd easily blasted it out of existence. Her own force fields only delayed him for a moment: one single burst of his omega-beams disrupted them. He was forcing her back, ever back.

She knew she didn't have much power—or time—left. She hoped her friends had managed to use that time to escape, but, if not, she'd done all she could. She used her remaining reserves of strength to form one last force-field….

…Which actually lasted a full two seconds. The resulting shockwave threw her back against the far wall. She collapsed, only half conscious…..

The sorceress had lasted longer than he'd expected, Darkseid reflected, as he approached her semi-conscious form. Trigon's own spawn. He knew the demon lord probably didn't care overly much about his rebellious daughter, but it still might be fun to tweak the monster a little. Even though he knew demons usually cared little for others, regardless of their personal relationship with them, still, with a little imagination, perhaps he could come up with something to do to her, some way to defile her viciously enough that would irritate even the Lord of Evil himself. He reached down to grasp the girl by her hair….

From the corner of his eye, he saw the characteristic glow of a boom tube forming. Heard a low, dangerous voice: "Get away from her, _scum._"

And before he could react, something hit him with the force of the Nemesis meteorite.

_Definitely to be continued…_


	18. Chapter 18: Endgame

Godwar, Part 2: Battleground: Chapter 18: Endgame.

_I don't own the Teen Titans (of course), but I hope you enjoy this conclusion to this part of the Godwar Saga as much as I did. It's by no means over, but __this__ part is. As you'll see…._

Omega smashed through wall after wall. There were still some parademons left within the fortress; he smashed his way through them, too, not bothering to down. He'd intentionally left the others far behind; this wasn't a fight they really needed to get into. He smiled a feral smile: He was actually looking forward to meeting this "Darkseid." It sounded like it might be fun.

…

Darkseid was also careening through wall after wall, but this was a condition not of his choosing. Well. This was unexpected. And it could pose a distinct complication. Even Doomsday hadn't hit _this_ hard.

Raven came to, with someone's hand behind her, gently holding her up. "Raven? Are you alright?" Her vision cleared, somewhat.

Kneeling over her was a red-haired giant of a man, fully six-ten if an inch, powerfully muscled, and wearing a blue-and-white uniform, with bluish-green plexiform goggles. The outfit was unfamiliar to her, but there was something oddly familiar about _him,_ about his face, about his _expression, _though; she couldn't place it. "You—you know me?"

The giant smiled, a strangely _recognizable_ smile, a smile she'd seen somewhere before. "Of course I know you…._mere._ It's me: Jasson." Raven's jaw dropped as recognition took hold: the shock of unruly red hair that no comb or brush could ever tame, the clear brown eyes, the wide, schoolboy grin…..but all grown up now? And so _big?_ How had that happened? _When _had that happened? And what was he doing _here? _And just as she wondered all that, he placed two fingers to the side of his head. "It seems," he said, "that we've a mutual friend." He glanced at someone outside of Raven's field of view. "Guard her 'till I get back. Don't let anyone harm her." He turned back to Raven. "'Scuse me, _mere,_" he said, grimly, glancing up at the sounds of a crash just beyond the wall. "I have to go take out the trash."

….

On board the Hunter fleet: Farseer was overseeing the invasion of Apokolips when Reads the Spoor signaled for attention. "Admiral? Something strange…."

"Onscreen."

The screen came alive, but, rather than show the standard view of space, showed a graphic representation of Apokolips' star system. There was a green line coming in from outside the system, moving rapidly towards their own. "These readings have to be in error, but…."

"'But'?"

"If they're not…they seem to indicate a large object entering this star system from outside. What puzzles me is, it seems to be decelerating from an incredible translight velocity. Not through any sort of warp tube, either. And also…."

"Yes?"

"It seems to be….a _planet,_ a whole planet, with a working ecosystem. I'm reading water, land, and breathable air, as well as a temperate climate, even this far from any source of energy. Some life forms, even. Nor is it losing mass, as it normally would, decelerating from that phenomenal a velocity. Judging from its vector, it is zeroing in on Apokolips itself. Still decelerating."

"Any sign of communication from it? Or any indication of attack?"

"No, sir. It seems to be ignoring us altogether. Initiating tracking procedures…."

…

On board one of the two remaining Kindred ships: Alpha, Delta, and Theta's clones had already reached maturity, and the minds of the three had been transplanted into the mindless bodies. {{Sensors? What is transpiring on the planet below?}}

{{The invasion goes well, Alpha. However, enemy reinforcements have arrived and are taking on the Hunter fleet. There is, as yet, no sign or signal from Maria, but the ground forces of the enemy have been met by, and are apparently engaged in combat with, some very strange beings, the like of which I've never seen.}} And the floating holoscreens showed the Apokolips ground forces in heated action with a group of anthropomorphic metal giants, who were steadily gaining ground. Alpha's mouth quirked in a wry smile. He recognized his daughter's handiwork. _Excellent work, Maria,_ he thought. Of course, he could never admit that to her. At least, not for a few….well, he'd see. {{Have you located this 'Darkseid'?}} The most efficient way to end this conflict and return home would be to neutralize him.

{{There is an indication of a massive power source within the larger of the structures on the planet. But, Alpha…there seems to be more than one.}} He also relayed information about the worldlet of Calador, even then zeroing in on the embattled planet below. {{And I can find no scientific explanation for the behavior of the object.}}

{{Evidently, there are forces at work here with which we are not familiar. Yet. More data is needed. Epsilon. You will see to its accumulation.}} He then turned his own prodigious intellect to the development of weapons systems mighty enough to destroy even this _Darkseid_ entity: Within the bowels of the main Kindred force-ship, the Osiran matrix matter/energy manipulator began to manufacture engines of destruction utilizing scientific principles human minds wouldn't conceive of for close to a thousand years….

But that was for a bit later. {{Tactical.}} That was Delta, just then regaining her seat. {{Increase shield power by one hundred-thirty five percent. And move us into position where we may engage these newcomers; we are allies with these Hunters now. _We_ will see to these reinforcements.}} Other Apokolips warships were still boom-tubing in, replacing the ones destroyed by the Hunter fleet, and moving into position to defend the embattled world below, and attack the Hunters. They virtually ignored the Kindred force-ship. {{Take point position. Weapons.}} That was Gamma. {{Prepare the first of the antimatter bombs, and the teleport delivery system. Immediately. Coordinate with Tactical and target the first twenty-seven of the enemy vessels that pose the greatest threat to either the Hunters or us. See to their destruction. Then you may begin on the next twenty-seven. Continue this until opposition ceases. Use the transenergy beams on the nearer ones at your discretion. And begin the manufacture of more antimatter bombs.}} And Gamma did, flipping the bombs through hyperspace _past_ the arriving Apokolips' vessels' force-screens and armor, to within the very guts of the ships themselves. It didn't take the newcomers long to discover that the Hunter fleet was not the main threat. All around the Kindred force-ship, as well as the embattled Hunter fleet, the warships of the planet of war began to simply explode for no apparent reason. Then the next twenty-seven—the ships of Apokolips simply had no defense against this sort of attack. While they were accustomed to boom-tube attacks, this was a type of teleportation they were not familiar with. The bombs simply _appeared_ within them_. _Their own beams and torpedoes glanced harmlessly off the powered-up force-shield of the Kindred ship, while the beam weapons of the force-ship sliced through their own shields and armor like a razor through cheese. {{Sensors.}} This was Theta and Beta. {{Coordinate your efforts with Weapons and Tactical. Target the primary threats, then the secondary, and so forth…but see to it that _nothing_ stands between us and our daughter.}} He paused, his lips thinning in anger. {{If this 'Darkseid' has harmed her in any way….I will be…_most_ displeased.}}

Through this expanding cloud of debris and detonating ships, the Kindred vessel moved with the confident speed of a juggernaut.

….

Darkseid was once again sent flying through the walls of his palace. His personal force field was holding steady, but it was showing signs of strain, something he'd never believed possible before.

His opponent, whoever he was, seemed to have inexhaustible energy. And, although Darkseid couldn't be sure, it actually seemed like his foe was getting _stronger_ with each passing second. Whatever race he belonged to, he was no Kryptonian. Even Kryptonians weren't _this_ strong. Darkseid's agonizer matrix hadn't worked; his opponent simply shrugged it off, somehow.

The red-haired giant had actually seemed to absorb Darkseid's energy blasts. That had never happened before. "You do know your cause is hopeless, do you not?" Darkseid said, between attacks.

The giant grinned. "Doesn't look that way from here." And once again, he began pummeling Darkseid, raining blow after atomic-piledriver blow upon the lord of Apokolips, driving the dark god back, ever back, pretty much in a straight line through the building, never giving his opponent so much as a moment of relief. Their battle had succeeded in effectively destroying Darkseid's main fortress, and they were making good headway on a secondary structure next to it.

Darkseid countered. It had been a long, long time since he'd faced a foe that could match him, blow for blow, but he'd lost nothing of the skill needed for such battles as these. Such strength as had once nearly beaten Superman was his to command, but his every blow was either blocked or simply shrugged off. His opponent had been well trained, he had to give him that. Could he possibly have been trained, perhaps _created_ for this very battle? "You cannot kill me. The very Source protects my life essence. Any victory you attain here is only temporary. I will return. And you and yours will suffer the consequences."

"And that would no doubt be true. If you were to die." What?

"But _you_ will die _now,_" said Darkseid, activating his Omega beams. Enough was enough. He still had an invasion to deal with, as well as those upstart Titans. The finder beams lanced out, zig-zagging first one way, then the other….

….and just before they reached his Nemesis, said Nemesis gestured. Miniature boom-tubes formed, perfectly capturing the beams….

….and teleporting them _right back into Darkseid himself, completely bypassing his force-fields altogether._ One targeted the part of Darkseid's brain that generated his omega effect, while another lanced through his upper torso. Darkseid gasped, falling to the ground, suddenly wounded and defenseless, his own powers fading…

Dimly, on all fours, his life-blood pooling beneath him, he sensed his opponent approaching. Saw a pair of blue and white boots in front of his face. "There _are_ fates more permanent than death, Darkseid." Darkseid didn't have time or the senses to register as the stasis field formed around him…..

Nemesis looked around. He could sense the others on their way, especially the one called _Omega._ He sought the advice of his God. _You must hurry,_ said the latter, _get the others, especially Raven, to safety. She is in danger._

Raven was still recovering from her battle with Darkseid when Granny Goodness appeared from the shadows of the ruined complex. "My, my. What have we here? Were I of a merciful mind, I'd simply kill you. But I seem to be all out of mercy, today. So, I think severing your spinal column should do nicely. Done properly, it should render you paralyzed from the neck down. I just have to do it properly, is all. Fortunately, old Granny has had some practice at this…." And the old woman drew her knife…..

….and a fast-moving bundle of energy bounded out from nowhere, slamming into Goodness with the force of a runaway bus, propelling her into and through the opposite wall and into the firepit beyond. Granny's screams echoed for a long, long time.

Raven stared. At first, she'd thought it was Angelique, but no. While this _was_ a little girl, she looked to be younger than Angelique, and…..

….not a human child at all. Rather, this child had milk-white hair and skin, and was clothed in a miniature version of Omega's own uniform. It was a little _Osiran_ girl. She looked to be about six or seven.

Jasson rejoined them. "Ah, I see you've met. Raven," he knelt down beside her, gently lifting her upi into a semi-seated position. She'd been through an ordeal than few others had ever survived, and she was still recovering. "Raven, I'd like to introduce you to my _other_ sister. This is Deena. Deena," he addressed the little girl, "This is Miss Raven. Remember, I told you about her." Then, to Raven, he added soberly. "I believe you knew her parents." And the child gravely stuck out her hand in the human gesture of friendship.

Raven stared some more. Yes, now she could clearly see the resemblance to the warriors she'd known, back in Jasson's world. And it hadn't been lost on her that Jasson had used the _past_ tense, to refer to Deena's parents. So that meant…. Tears running down her face, she gathered the little girl to her. "Yes, child. Yes. I knew your parents."

…..

_Outside, both the Hunter and the Kindred ships registered yet another boom tube opening up. This one was a bit larger than some; it had to be. The massive Osiran probe emerged from it._

_Meanwhile, the speeding worldlet of Calador slowed down enough to match velocities—more or less—with Apokolips. It made one revolution around the embattled world, and, as it passed over, every single lowlie on the planet below simply disappeared into thin air, to reappear upon the surface of Calador. Darkseid's troops and parademons tried to intervene, but there was nothing they could do. The lowlies were simply there one second, and the next second they weren't._

_At the same time, the metallic giants currently carving their way through the armored forces of Apokolips also began to disappear, being teleported away to another timeline. There are, after all, literally an infinite number of possible tomorrows. Theirs is but one._

Omega and the others arrived at the scene, with Nemesis holding a still-groggy Raven, and Deena looking on. "Here," said Nemesis, handing Raven over to Omega. He looked them over. "Introductions will have to wait. All of you, you need to get to safety. The Master has brought the Osiran probe here, and the countdown clock is ticking. We don't have but a few minutes. Get everybody you care for off this planet, and tube back to Earth." He smiled a bit of a crooked smile. "I don't think Darkseid, or Apokolips, for that matter, will be a problem much longer."

Kitten's boom tubes transported them all-with the exception of Nemesis and Deena, who had their own means of transportation—back to the Hunter fleet, which, in tandem with the remaining two Kindred force-ships, immediately began moving away from the star system, heading outward and into the tube leading back to Earth's universe. Meanwhile, the worldlet of Calador, now teeming with lowlies, sped outward through its own boom tube. Nemesis and Deena joined them.

The lowlies were far from reassured. "Great Darkseid will be angry with us," they muttered fearfully.

And a voice like a little flame echoed in all their minds: {{_**You needn't worry about Darkseid anymore. My champion has dealt with him. And even if he does return, he'll have to go through me to get to you.**_

_**{{You are **__**safe.**__**}}**_

And about that time, the Osiran probe went off.

The changewave hit Apokolips first, with the energy of the firepits increasing by a thousandfold. The entire planet blew apart from the increase in energy.

But that was nothing compared to what happened eight minutes later, when the changewave reached Apokolips' reddish-orange star. Quantum energies found themselves magnified by a factor of several thousand; the star itself expanded into a white supergiant, its size increasing outward thousands of times, to where it would have engulfed the orbit of Saturn, in Earth's solar system. What few planets there were in Apokolip's former star system boiled away underneath its nova-like fury.

And within the inferno that had been Apokolips' star, unchanged, forever unchangeable, floated the stasis-field encased form of he who had once been the lord of Apokolips. His connection to the Source was severed, since such things require change, and no change is possible within a time-stasis field. He would float there until time itself ended.

And although there was no-one there to hear, a voice not dependent upon mere sound spoke up there, in that inferno: {{_**And when time **__**does**__** end, O Mighty Darkseid,**_}} it said, {{_**I'll be there. Waiting.**_}}

…..

The Hunter fleet, all seven hundred fifty-one remaining ships, came back into Earth's reality within the orbit of the moon. Raven was in the quarters they'd assigned to her, busy communicating with the Entity. {{But what of the lowlies? You did save them, didn't you?}}

_**{{But of course I did, Raven. I prepared a world for them to live on, and transported it to a universe under my control.}} **_He paused_. __**{{They have been horribly mistreated, over hundreds of thousands of years. Such abuse has left its scars, both physical and psychological. Such scars will not lift easily; it will take a great deal of time. But lift they will, and I have all the time there is.**_

_**{{And I will teach them. I will teach them of the relationship that can exist between a loving deity and a reverent humanity. In time, they will learn not to fear.**_

_**{{They will be my people, and I will be their God, and I will care for them.}}**_

_**The End.**_

Epilogue One: The Hunter fleet assumed high orbit around Earth. It took a little fast talking on Robin's part, not to mention some diplomatic skills he didn't even know he had until then, to keep a nervous Justice League from assuming their world was being invaded. "You say you invaded _Apokolips?_" Batman asked incredulously. Robin had never heard him sound _surprised_ before. He hadn't thought that was even possible.

"Yes, sir. We retrieved Tara, and, by all accounts, Darkseid won't be a problem for us anymore. And we, uh, kinda blew up the entire star system. Well, _we_ didn't, exactly, I mean, we had help, but…."

"I'll be looking forward to seeing that report. Is there any chance we may see more of this 'Nemesis' or 'Deena'?"

"That I don't know, but I got the distinct impression they don't intend to be strangers." He leaned back, arms crossed. This was a secure connection, and only he and the Dark Knight were able to access it. "You know, what with Angelique, Missy, and maybe Deena, if she's around, we may be seeing the next generation of Titans. You know I proposed to Starfire, don't you?"

"Yes," replied Batman. And then he did a rare thing: he actually smiled. Just a little, but he did. "And it's about time, too." He inclined his head. "Good luck, Dick. I wish you both the best."

"Gar and Terra will be taking full retirement after the ceremony, from what I've gathered. Oh, they'll be available, but not nearly so much as in the past. And in my case….I guess what I'm saying is, Starfire and I may be going into semi-retirement soon, too. So there may be some….gaps in leadership there."

"I've every confidence in your ability. And Dick….." here he paused, something Batman _never_ did. "Maybe you should give serious thought to full retirement yourself. From a few dropped comments I've picked up on, I think _you'd_ like to start a family, too."

Robin rubbed his eyes. "I don't know if Kory can have kids by me. Not that that really matters, but I mean…

"By sheer coincidence, it so happens I've been doing a little research on that. From what I've found out, Earthlings and Tamaraneans may be a lot more compatible than you'd think, genetically. It turns out that, with a little biochemical boost, children are a strong possibility. Like about ninety-seven percent plus. But of course, that's up to you two." Again there was that slightest hint of a smile…..

"And," Batman continued, with an odd glint in his eye, and in what Robin could've sworn was as close to a humorous attitude as he'd ever seen, coming from the Dark Knight, "It might be interesting to have a few…youngsters…running around the house. With all the automation I've installed, Alfred's been complaining about having nothing to do." And then, while Robin stared, open-mouthed, in shock at what he'd just heard, Batman cut the connection. Then Robin grinned, slowly, as he remembered the old axiom, _be careful what you ask for….._

….

The Hunter fleet kept a respectful distance, making preparations to return home. There was a special ceremony they performed for those fallen in battle; Talks to God had explained, as tactfully as he could, that it was really for Hunters only; no other species were allowed. So in the meantime, Raven was speaking with the Orb.

"So…what will you do now?" She asked it.

{{**I find myself unsure. In a sense, these **_**are**_** my children, as the one called "Talks to God" says: they would not exist without me. I feel a certain sense of responsibility towards them.**}}

"So…will you be leaving with them?" Raven's heart sank a bit at the thought.

{{**Raven, I could not leave you. You were my first true friend. But a part of me will go with them, to observe them, and, yes, to enjoy their company, and to experience their culture. The beings I had first approached in friendship and that I had thought I had killed are not only alive, but evidently doing rather well. To me, that is nothing short of what you call miraculous.**

**{{But a part of me will also remain here with you, if you will permit me to do so. I **_**can**_** be in more than one place at a time.}}**

"If I will _permit_ you? Orb, I'm glad you're _not_ leaving! You are my friend, too, and, and I don't want you to leave!"

{{**Good. Then that is what I shall do. Besides,}}** and here, the Orb's mental "voice" took on a rather shy note, or so it seemed to Raven. {{**Garfield Logan and Terra Markov's wedding is coming up. I would really like to be present for that event, if I may.**}}

Raven smiled, and moved closer to the Orb, reaching out and contacting the strange not-substance. "Well, if anybody _objects_ to your presence, send them to me." Her eyes glowed red. All four of them. "We'll…discuss the matter."

…..

Epilogue Two: Within the newly reforming vibrational universe that had previously housed Apokolips, yet another boom tube opened up. From it emerged a large planetary object, nearly the size of Jupiter. Oddly enough, however, it reflected all light that fell upon it. Perhaps not so oddly; objects encased in stasis fields tend to do that.

Orbiting sensors took stock of the situation, the universe in which they found themselves. Yes. A nice, new universe, one rich in resources, and with a quantum level quite acceptable. Ideal, even. Out beyond the white supergiant star that had once been Apokolips' sun, mechanisms activated, moving the object into a proper orbit around the now-massive star.

Within, other mechanisms activated; certain relays closed, while others opened. This was a good universe; it would definitely serve the Masters well. The stasis field around the planet clicked off.

Upon the planet's surface, a figure, wearing lustrous black robes, and a _tiki _like mask, was seated upon a massive U-shaped throne. He rapidly examined the readouts his machines provided; yes, this universe would do nicely. And then the Osirus began to check in with his subordinates. The Horus, Seth, Nut, Hotep, Geb, Amun, Bastet, etc., all reported in. No damage, no losses. He sighed a sigh of relief.

He turned his attention to his chief Thinker. **{{**_**Any signs of intelligent life within sensor range?**_**}}**

{{No, sire. We appear to be the only ones anywhere, within range, that is. And there is no sign of any pursuing chaos wave.}}

_Even better,_ thought the Osirus. Perhaps, given time, they might could have come up with a defense against the entropic wave, but there had simply been no time. Now the matter could be properly addressed. **{{**_**Where, precisely, are we?**_**}}** His Thinker rattled off some figures. **{{**_**And we are currently orbiting a white supergiant star? Good. Just exactly what we needed.**_**}}** He relaxed somewhat. The Fates were with them.

{{My lord? I am detecting something odd within the star we find ourselves orbiting. Hyperdar scans reveal what looks like an object encased within a stasis field, actually deep within the boundaries of the star itself.}}

The Osirus pondered. The Great Civil war they'd recently undergone had resulted in much destruction and many casualties. Some Lords had gone rogue, seeking to elevate themselves above their station, at the expense of others, and had had to be dealt with harshly. Osiran law stated that, because they were Lords, they could not simply be executed, as any of the underclasses would have been, so a means had to be found to dispose of the captives thus taken that would serve basically the same purpose. Thus, they had been placed within pods, which in turn had been placed in stasis fields and the entire arrangement shot into the event horizons of supermassive collapsars, black holes, as some called them. That had satisfied the law: they were not dead, but for all intents and purposes, they were completely removed from the universe of Osira, forever.

But black holes of the right type sometimes led somewhere, perhaps to other universes. This might conceivably be one of them.

Well, thought the Osirus, it didn't really matter. Whether it was a rogue Lord or something else was of no concern to him, right then. As far as he was concerned, whatever it was could stay there forever.

He had those under him to attend to, and, not incidentally, an empire to rebuild.

Epilogue Three: _An almost inconceivably vast distance away—in both space and time—a Being stood on a grassy hillside, gazing into the night sky from a face that had no eyes, that was not a face. _

_It was time. Time to begin again._

…


End file.
